Primrose
by artemisia89
Summary: Chapter 5: It's time to find out the thruth! Will Sherlock Misaki Holmes manage to find the thruth behind her aggression? And how are Ruka and Kouichi implied? ...And will she manage to get a birthday present on time?
1. Prologue: I lost my way

_I wasn't really sure I would do it, but... well, turned out I did and wrote a TMGS 3rd Story fanfiction. I don't know if it's good or not, so I'll let you be the judges of that.  
><em>_So, on with the usual premise. **This is supposed to turn into a pretty long story**, but of course how long it will be depends on various things, not least my inspiration. Still, I think it will be longer and more linear than my previous one, without me jumping from event to event like a crazy. Also, while **I'm pretty obviously going to focus on the Sakurai Brothers**, this time **I won't say what's the canon coupling of the story **and keep a little bit of suspense about it... even if I think it will be pretty obvious after a while. Or even almost immediately! Another thing I should probably warn you about is that **the heroine** (who's name here is **Nomura Misaki**) **is the cousin of the heroine of my previous story, so there will be references**. Still, they won't be heavy references and they won't make it hard for you to read this even if you haven't read my previous work. After all, it's a different story!  
><em>_Oh, and another thing! I probably don't need to say this, but **this story contains spoilers, especially on the Sakurai Brothers routes**, so if you haven't played the game and don't want to be spoiled, don't read. But I guess you wouldn't be reading this, if you didn't play the game.  
><em>_Well, that's it! Author's Note is over. I hope you'll have fun!_

_**PRIMROSE**_

_**Prologue**_

_**I lost my way**_

It was a warm spring afternoon. The sun, still up in the sky, was neither too weak or too hot, making it pleasant to just let its rays caress the skin, without the risk or getting baked as a crisp.

The boy who was lying down on the roof of the church knew it well.

It wasn't a big church: more like a chapel surrounded by trees. It was in an high school ground, but a little far away from the modern building, so that it somewhat looked like another world, a world where fairies, dragons, princes and princesses still existed. The scenery around the little church was amazing, but the boy knew it already and was somewhat used to it. That was the reason why, despite the fact that he wasn't really sleeping, he didn't open his eyes and just stayed there like a lizard, letting the sun draw highlights on his blond hair and caress his skin, so much that its already white colour seemed to melt with the white of his sweater. Wrapped in the light and surrounded by that scenery, he looked almost like a forest god, so much that the birds, usually shy around people, landed around him without being bothered by is presence at all, as if he was somewhat one of them. The boy himself didn't seem to mind, keeping his eyes closed in the act of sleeping, even if his mind was actually spinning around, chasing down far memories of a time long gone.

That church and the ground around it was once his playground. His, his brother's and... _that girl's_.

A lot of time had passed since then, but he still remembered everything as if it was only the day before. When he and his brother were alone, they used to play dodgeball, soccer, or they played games based on the heroes they saw on TV, but when that girl was with them, since she didn't know anything about that stuff, their usual game was hide-and-seek. His brother was always the demon, while he and the little girl used to go hide. Even if they knew the demon would find them more easily that way, they always hid in the same place.

Maybe it looked stupid, but they weren't alone.

The boys lips curled in a faint smile as he remembered the thrill when his brother voices started counting and the feeling of the girl's hand in his when he grabbed it to go hide. Even if all those years passed, he still remembered their voices echoing around the church.

_''Are you ready?''_

_''Not yet!''_

Then, at times, without a real reason, the little girl used to ask him:

_''Why are you sad?''_

He wondered why and how she managed to read behind his smile, how could she _know_, even if he was already so good at hiding his sadness behind that smile, but he never found an answer. And, as much as he would have liked to ask the girl directly, he couldn't... because she wasn't there anymore.

That place used to be their playground, but it was also the place where they said goodbye. She left and didn't come back.

Yet, he never forgot about her, about the time the three of them spent together playing hide-and-seek in front of that church. Certainly, that was one of the reason he was there in the first place. And maybe his brother remembered too, even if he knew he wasn't the romantic type who would carry on those memories.

Just imagining his brother think about those melancholic memories made him smile. No, he definitely wasn't that type of person. That was _his_ role. If he went and talk to his brother about that kind of things, he'd probably say he was an idiot, living in the past like that.

He was right. The time passed, that girl never came back, the two of them weren't kids anymore.

His brother was definitely right. But that was also one of the reason why he didn't want to go home. One of the many reasons...

**…**

**…**

**…**

«WHAT IS THIS SUPPOSED TO MEAN?» the girl's voice thundered throughout the room, as she stormed inside like a tornado holding a slipper in her hand as if it was a sword.

Despite the fact that she was short and thin like a pixie and her dark brown hair tied in short pigtails that made her look like a child, in that moment she looked like some vengeful goddess came out from a Viking legend.

The other girl sitting on the carpet with a white kitten on her lap raised her head, looking at her with a puzzled and a little scared expression.

«Nami, what...?» she asked, worried, before noticing that she was talking at her cellphone... and what she said right after solved the mystery without need for her to enquire.

«That's not the problem, Teru! The problem is that you promised you would help me!»

''Ah, that's it'' the other girl though with a smile.

The kitten on her lap, that was actually the other girl's pet, looked up at her with a perplexed expression in his big blue eyes and mewed softly, as if to ask her what was going on with his mistress.

«Nami is quarrelling with her boyfriend again. Don't worry about it, Nyaa. Soon it will be over» she explained in a whisper, chuckling and scratching him behind his ears. The kitten purred innocently: he was so cute that, if she didn't know better, she wouldn't believe that he was actually a Killer Cat with the bad habit of scratching to death every male in sight.

«What does it mean ''I can be the one being late for once''? It's not like I'm always the one being late...»

The girl called Nami, who had kept storming around the room like an hurricane, collecting everything she might need in the process, suddenly stopped dead on her tracks, her eyes shining dangerously.

«No, I'm not!... I'm not!... I told you I'M NOT! It's you who are always too early!... What do you mean ''Compared to you the whole world is always too early''?... I'M NOT A SLOWPOKE, YOU _JERK! _...Oh, anyway, the problem is not if I'm late or not, or if you're late or not _usually_. The problem is that you're late _now_! And I need you _now!_»

Despite her furious expression, the girl on the carpet didn't look worried at all. That wasn't an unusual scene: the first time it happened, she was a little bit scared, but then realized it was normal and got used to it. Right about now, she even found it kind of cute.

Nami was three years older than her and she was her cousin and her next door neighbour too. She hadn't seen her in a while before she moved back in Habataki City, but she hadn't changed at all: she was always the same bright and slightly crazy girl she remembered, even if now she was going to start university soon. About a month before, she started ''officially'' dating with a schoolmate of hers by the name of Saeki Teru... and that was when the Endless Bickering Contest officially started. They did _nothing _but bickering and picking on each other like two little kids, but apparently there was no way to tear them apart. They were just like this.

Finally, after a while, Nami calmed down.

«Are you _absolutely sure_?... Okay, then. I'll wait for you... No, don't worry, my parents are not there, so Dad is not going to shoot you from the window when you arrive... Yeah, Nyaa is here, but Misaki is playing with him. She'll take him upstairs when you'll come. There's nothing life threatening, so hurry up!... Yeah, yeah, I'll do it. See you in twenty minutes then. ...I love you.»

She said the last sentence in a whisper, probably hoping she wouldn't hear it, but she heard anyway. Misaki lowered her head and let her reddish-brown bangs partially cover her face, so that her cousin couldn't notice her smile.

They were just too cute!

Finally Nami hanged up and put the cellphone back in the pocket, sighing.

«I'm seriously starting to hate him» she said. «Sorry you had to hear that, Saki-chan.»

Misaki shrugged with a smile, scratching Nyaa behind the ear.

«Don't worry, it's always funny to listen» she said. «But if you really need help packing up, I can do it too.»

Her cousin shook her head.

«No, that's not the point. You're already helping me by not letting Nyaa near my suitcases. What I need is someone to carry the heavy stuff, since Dad isn't here and all. These are the good point of having a boyfriend, my dear cousin! Take note of it!» she added with the naughty grin she was infamous for.

Misaki laughed and raised an eyebrow.

«And what would the bad points be?» she asked.

Nami sighed again.

«Having to stand that evil _TSUNdere_ of Teru when he's in a bad mood is enough of a bad point; and he's almost always in a bad mood!»

Her cousin didn't answer, because she probably had no right to. Her family moved back in Habataki City less than two weeks before, so she still didn't know all the people that entered her cousins lives while she wasn't there. Other than Nami, she met her other cousins, Miki and Tsukushi, and happened to see Miki's fiancé, Kei, from afar, but that was it. As for Nami's new boyfriend, she met him once only because she was the one showing her around town. He didn't stay long though: only enough for her to swoon at how handsome he was. Still, he didn't look as_ evil_ as Nami said.

«If you are not happy, you can still hand him over to me» she joked. «He's not bad.»

Immediately forgetting about the fact that she said she hated him, Nami glared at her.

«Don't even think about it. He's my personal jerk, so I'm not handing him to anyone!»

Misaki laughed again and lifted a purring Nyaa in her arms, cradling him like a baby.

«Anyway, I'll have to work hard to find a boyfriend as attractive as yours or Miki's fiancé. Or are all the guys in Habataki City like that?»

Now it was Nami's turn to laugh.

«I don't think so. There are a some of my ex-schoolmates that aren't bad, though. Most of them will start the university this year, though... but wait, there's this junior of mine who's will start his third year in Hanegasaki High this year. He's very cute, even if a little devilish at times...»

Was she speaking seriously? Judging by her face, yes: she looked really concerned about the idea of introducing her a possible boyfriend!

«Nami, I was joking. I'm not really interested!» she quickly turned her down. «Also, I'm not going to your same high school, remember?»

Nami sighed and pouted slightly.

«What a pity, though! Why didn't you enrolled in Hanegasaki High? It's not inferior to Habataki High in any way... and our uniforms are cuter!»

Misaki didn't answer immediately, playing thoughtfully with one of her short, reddish bangs. It was hard to answer, really: there wasn't a real reason. At first she was more inclined toward Hanegasaki High, since the other looked a little too elite for her and she was scared she wouldn't fit in. But then she visited both schools and just fell in love with Habataki High. She was drawn to it, as if there was a little voice whispering in her ear that she _had _to go there, that it was her destiny. And who was she to discuss the destiny? So she enrolled there and the following day she would finally start her high school life.

Still, if she said that she did it because of her _destiny_, Nami would probably laugh at her.

«No reason, really. I just liked the clubs more, and I heard from Miki a lot of interesting stuff about the teachers and the subjects, and she said I can borrow some of her old notes if I need them...»

Nami glared at her again, pouting even more.

«Basically, you're choosing Miki over _me_! I'm jealous, you know? Or the true reason is...». Her expression changed so quickly that it was almost scary, and she jumped beside her, hugging her shoulders in a confidential way. «...that you hope to find a cute little Sleeping Beauty Male Version like Kei-san there? You can tell me, you know?»

While she was saying this, she hugged her with so much strength that Misaki almost choked to death.

«Ahh! Nami...cough cough... You're killing me! Cough!»

«Tell me the truth or I'm not going to let you go!» she chanted, and started tickling her without mercy.

«Ahahah! No! That's not the...ahahahah!... reason! Nami, let me go!» Misaki gasped, raging and kicking between the laughter to make the cousin stop tickling her. She was raging so hard that Nyaa, still cuddled on her lap, got scared and ran away, jumping on the low shelf nearby and, from there, out of the window.

«Oh, crap!» the two girl exclaimed at the same time, while they saw the round, fluffy ball of fur jumping out of the window like in slow motion.

«Damn it! Nyaa has never been outside before! Stupid me! Why did I left the window open? What if he's run over by a car?» Nami panicked, quickly getting up and running at the window to check on her cat.

''Or what if he attacks every male he meets on the street?'' thought Misaki, who had more trust in the kitten ability to survive, but less in his infamous hate for all males, with the only possible exception of her uncle and her cousin Miki's fiancé.

She reached for the window too, looking outside from over Nami's shoulder. Since they were on the first floor, Nyaa of course wasn't hurt, but he was still running like a crazy along the walkway and his furry figure was already disappearing from their sight.

«I'll go get him, Saki-chan! Wait here!» Nami immediately said, starting to reach for the door.

Misaki stopped her by grabbing her wrist.

«No, I'll go. Saeki-san will be here soon, right? You stay and wait for him. After all, I was the one who had to take care of Nyaa!»

Nami hesitated, looking at her little cousin determined face with a little bit of worry.

«Are you sure? You still don't know the city very well: won't you get lost?»

As an answer, she just laughed it off.

«Don't worry about me! I'm already fifteen, you know? I can find my way around. Also, Nyaa is just a kitten: he won't be able to run forever, right?»

Still not completely convinced, Nami gave up.

«Okay, then. You go.»

Misaki smiled and nodded, then quickly dashed outside, running in the same direction where she saw Nyaa disappear, raising her hand to cover her eyes from the sun rays.

Finally she spotted the familiar furry figure hiding under a car and sighed in relief. See? She was right. He didn't go too far away.

«Here you are, Nyaa. Come here, cutie! Let's go home.»

She crouched beside the car, reaching out to him with her hand... but before she could touch him, he suddenly hissed like and snake and ran out of his hiding spot, still scared and confused about that place he had never been before.

«No, Nyaa! Wait!» Misaki panicked, seeing how the cat was now running in the middle of the street, risking to be run over by a car for real.

She immediately ran after him, but right then a car suddenly appeared in front of her. Nyaa made it unscathed on the other side, but she managed to avoid it only thanks to the driver brakes and her good reflexes, that made her jump on the side one second before being run over. She fell hard on the walkway, scratching her hands and tearing the fabric of her jeans. And to make things worse, Nyaa was now even more scared than before, and ran as if a demon was following him.

«Damn it!» Misaki muttered, ignoring the pain and standing up again to run after the fugitive kitten.

Soon she found out that she undervalued Nyaa's resistance: despite him being just a few months old kitten, he was fast and could run for very long time without stopping. Also, he was already scared and the fact that Misaki was running after him certainly wasn't very calming. Still, she couldn't just stop following him, or she'd lose sight of him. So they both kept running, Misaki hoping that eventually his strength would wear off... possibly before her own. She didn't think about were they were going, focusing only on keeping her eyes on the furry white figure in front of her, until she realized that she didn't know where they were anymore. Even then, she didn't stop. She was pretty sure she could still find her way back and she couldn't afford to lose sight of Nyaa: Nami loved her cat and she didn't want her to suffer because she wasn't strong enough to keep up the pace with a kitten.

Still, as much as she wanted to catch him, eventually her energies wore off. She was out of breath, her heart was pounding as if it wanted to break throw her ribs and her vision was starting to get blurred. Of course Nami loved her cat, but she was pretty sure she loved her more and she wouldn't want her to have an heart attack and die. So she stopped running and stood there, panting and gasping to recollect her breath, while a still full of energy Nyaa jumped between the trees on the roadside, disappearing from her sight.

Feeling all the weight of the failure, she waited until her lungs stopped hurting and then recollected herself, determined to find the cat all the same. She looked around... and gasped in despair.

Where the heck was she? Of course she already realized she was venturing in an unknown area, but, as long as she was in a place full of people, she could always asks someone to tell her the way. There it was a deserted area. It didn't even look like she was in the city anymore! There weren't houses: only the road that kept going down in a deep slope. Looked like she was on some sort of hill from where she could see the sea while, on the other side, there were a bunch of trees, so thick that, as far as she knew, it could even be a forest. And what's worse was that the sun, that was still high when she left Nami's home, was quickly setting and the sky was turning more orange for every second that passed.

She was in trouble. She was _indeed_ in trouble.

With a noisy sigh, she looked toward the trees. She was sure she saw Nyaa going that way and, despite the situation, she still wanted to find him. After all, even if she tried to get back, she'd have no idea where she was going, so she could as well make a last try to find the cat. Maybe, now that she wasn't running after him anymore, he would calm down a little and let her get him.

So, recollecting all of her strengths, she ventured between the trees and soon found herself in what looked like a small forest. She didn't know how big it was, but it didn't looks at all like a simple bunch of trees planted by men: they looked like they had been there for centuries!

«Nyaa! Where are you?» she called, looking around in search of that familiar ball of white fur that was Nami's cat. Still, she couldn't find it anywhere. There was nothing white around: only green and brown, and again green and brown.

«Nyaa, I'm begging you! I'm tired and I want to go home. Nyaa!»

She kept calling and calling, but there was no answer... until suddenly she heard something: a faint mewing sound coming from her right.

She sighed in relief and smiled, feeling a little bit of angst melting away.

«Nyaa! Wait for me! I'm coming!» she called again, quickly walking in the direction where she heard his voice.

Every time she called his name, he answered, as if he wanted her to find him. She wasn't an expert in the psychology of animals, but somehow it looked as if he was scared. Maybe he suddenly realized he was in an unfamiliar place again and was calling for help.

Nyaa's voice was neared and nearer, and she thought she finally made it, when she suddenly found herself in front of... a wall. Yes, nothing but an old wall made of red bricks. And Nyaa's voice came from the other side of it.

«Nyaa, what are you getting me into...?» she whispered, desperate, running her hands through the wall.

It was too high for her to just climb it and the trees nearby weren't close enough to use them as a ladder... not even for a cat. But, if Nyaa's voice came from behind it, he must have entered somehow. There _had _to be a way!

She started walking beside the wall, looking for a way to enter: a ladder, a gate, _something_... until she finally found what she was looking for. There was a hole in the wall, big enough to let a person go throw. That must have been the place Nyaa used to go in.

Without thinking about it twice, she crouched and sneaked throw it. When she looked around, she found herself in a space without trees. Nyaa wasn't in sight, but in front of her there was a little building that looked like a small church. The back side of a church, to be exact. The door wasn't in sight from where she was, but she could see the back side of a stained glass window. The images on it, that on the inside must have been coloured, looked grey on the outside, but she still could distinguish the figure of two people. From how they were dressed, they looked like a prince and a princess. From the inside it must have been really beautiful...

Without thinking, she looked around, looking for the entrance, but, as if it read her thoughts, a voice suddenly called out to her.

«You can't» it just said in a very calm, sweet tone.

Misaki, who thought no one was there, jumped in surprise, and she was even more surprised when she realized the voice came from... upside!

She quickly raised her head to look up and she saw that indeed someone was crouching on the roof, looking down toward her with a somewhat amused expression.

It was a boy around her age. His blond hair, long up to his shoulders, shook lightly in the breeze as he leaned down a little to look at her with his sharp, amused dark eyes. His smile was both angelic and a little naughty in the same time and he had the prettiest face she had ever saw in her whole life. Also, he wore a white sweater and the light of the sun setting behind the church made his clothes, hair and skin look even more fair, as if he was some sort of supernatural creature. The first thing that crossed Misaki's mind was that he had to be an angel protecting that church.

«...Eh?» she only managed to say, completely stunned by his sudden apparition.

He pointed down at the church with his finger.

«You wanted to go inside, right? You can't. You need a key to enter the church.»

While he talked, he kept smiling and his voice didn't change at all: the same calm, sweet, amused tone from before. He certainly didn't look angry, or annoyed or anything, yet in his words Misaki could read some sort reproach, as if he was implicitly scolding her for something.

Only then she managed to shake herself a little out of her own surprise to realize what the situation was. She sneaked inside without having no idea _where _she was entering. Of course she didn't know if that was private property of something. How stupid of her! And that evil furry ball of Nyaa was at fault! Ah, if only she could get her hands on him...!

«I-I-I'm sorry!» she blurted out, blushing from her toes to the peak of her hair. «I didn't mean to cause troubles, but I lost my cat... well, he's my cousin's cat, actually... and then I got lost and...»

As she panicked, trying to explain the situation, the unknown boy listened to her silently, possibly even more amused then before. Then, after a while, he interrupted her calmly, narrowing his eyes as he spoke:

«Why are you apologizing?»

Misaki's voice broke and she stared at him in surprise, completely confused.

«...Wait a second» she said when she finally got her voice back. «You're not one from the church, then?»

The boy shook his head slowly.

«No. I just lost my way home... kinda like you.»

He said that so sweetly that he looked like a kid, and Misaki couldn't help but smile, even if a part of her wondered how could he be so calm if he really lost his way.

«Then we are...» she started, but before she could go on, he suddenly leaned forward and, before she knew, he was falling down.

«Be care...!» she screamed, covering her eyes and waiting for the sound of the impact.

It came, but a lot more softly than she imagined and when she opened her eyes again, instead of the gruesome mixture of torn flesh and broken bones she was expecting, there was the boy, unscathed and completely at ease, as if jumping from the roof of a church was a perfectly normal thing to do. Well, it was true that the church wasn't all that big anyway, but still!

«Are you okay?» she asked, approaching of a few steps, her heart still pounding like crazy because of the scare.

He straightened up as if nothing happened and grinned brightly.

«Yes, I'm fine.»

Without the light of the sunset coming from behind him, he looked a lot more human, but he was still very good-looking. At the same level of both her cousins' boyfriends. Maybe, in terms of prettiness, even more. And, what's more, he kept looking at her curiously, as if she was some kind of new animal specie he had never seen before. Misaki blushed and looked down, desperately looking for something to say but completely unable of concentrating because of his gaze... until a bush nearby suddenly shook and a familiar furry ball came out of it meowing weakly.

«Nyaa! Here you are!» she exclaimed with a relieved smile, as the cat walked slowly toward them.

«Ah, is that the cat you lost?» the mysterious boy asked, turning toward Nyaa and walking toward him.

Right then, Misaki remembered Nyaa's bad habit of attacking every male in sight and quickly walked toward them, trying to avoid something terrible to happen.

«Be careful! Don't go close to him! He goes ballistic every time he sees a...»

Her voice broke again in surprise as she saw the most incredible thing happen, something she would never expect to see and that, if someone told her, she wouldn't believe it. Not only Nyaa wasn't attacking the mysterious boy, but he was cutely rubbing his back against his legs, purring gently.

«...man» she finished the sentence in disbelief, looking at the scene with her mouth comically opened.

Maybe her first impression was right. Maybe that boy wasn't a human being, after all. How else could he elude Nyaa's Anti-Male Radar?

He gently lifted Nyaa from the ground and held him in his arms, carrying him back toward her.

«How did you...?» Misaki stammered, as she took the cat back from his arms, still purring noisily.

He shrugged and looked up thoughtfully.

«Maybe he mistook me for a girl.»

From all the possible answers she could expect, that was probably the only one she didn't see coming. Moreover, the way he said it was so serious and thoughtful, that she couldn't help but start laughing.

He looked at her with his eyes opened wide, the perfect portrait of innocence.

«Why are you laughing? I'm serious! It wouldn't be the first time it happens. Who knows why?» he added to himself, looking seriously concerned... and Misaki laughed even more, so much that Nyaa mewed in protest.

It was a curious thing. She was usually shy around strangers, especially if they were attractive, but somehow she didn't feel unease around him. It was as if...

No, it was a stupid idea! It just wasn't possible.

By the way, she didn't know his name yet! She opened her mouth to introduce herself, but, before she could say one word, he looked up at the sky and talked.

«It's getting late. Let's go: I'll walk you home.»

Misaki blinked, surprised.

«Eh... but I told you I don't know how to...»

«That's why I'm walking you. Let's go!»

«But how can you know...»

But before she could finish the sentence, he was already passing through the hole in the wall and, afraid to remain there alone, she immediately followed him.

They walked side by side in the middle of the trees, Misaki holding Nyaa in her arms and following blindly the boy's guide. For one who said to have lost his way home, he seemed to be perfectly at ease. Was he just a very calm type, or was he lying before? Either way, she just hoped he wouldn't make her lose her way even more!

Anyway, if it was because they were lucky or because he really knew his way around, the road finally appeared in front of of them like a long, silver ribbon. Once there, Misaki though they would separate: after all, it was impossible that he really knew where her house was... but, instead, he kept sticking with her, guiding her along the street without a trace of insecurity, until they found themselves in front of her house, next door to Nami's.

When he stopped in front of her gate and asked ''Is this it?'', Misaki was literally staring at him with her mouth opened, completely mesmerized.

That couldn't be luck. Somehow, he must have known! But, but... HOW?

A lot of possibilities passed through her mind, one more improbable than the other. Was he a stalker? No, impossible: their meeting was too casual to be planned. Was he one of her neighbours? No, of course not: she would surely notice someone like him if he was in her neighbourhood. Had she known him somewhere before? No, she was positive it was the first time she met him.

In the end, the most probable option was that he _really _was a supernatural creature and knew it because of that! Her guardian angel, perhaps?

«How did you know this was my house?» she asked, stunned.

As an answer, the boy just smiled mysteriously and looked up thoughtfully.

«Nice question. Who knows?»

Then he gazed back at her, flashing that seraphic and stunning smile of his at her once again.

«Try to think about it.»

«Eh? But...!»

She tried to enquire more, but he had already turned away and, after a brief gesture with his hand, walked away. He was already almost out of ear-length when she remembered what he said before and called out to him.

«Hey, wait! You said you lost your way home...»

«I remembered it!» he answers simply without turning around, leaving Misaki there to stare his back until he disappeared at the end of the road.

But she had no time to think in details about what happened, because her cousin voice suddenly called her back to reality.

«Saki-chan! Here you are! What happened? You never came back and I was worried... Nyaa, you bad, bad cat! Where did you take poor Saki-chan, you naughty ball of fur!»

She ran by her side and take her cat from her arms, than took her hand to drag her inside. Doing so, she noticed the scratches on her hand.

«What happened? Nyaa scratched you?» Nami asked, worried.

«No» Misaki answered, still a little out of sorts. «I fell...»

Hearing her vague answer and seeing how her eyes kept wandering to where the boy disappeared, Nami's worried face immediately turned into her usual smirk.

«There was a boy with you before. I saw him from the window. Who was he?»

Misaki snapped out of it and glanced at her confusedly.

«Eh... Actually, I don't know, but he helped me coming back here.»

«You don't know? Weird. He looked pretty confident around you» Nami enquired, suspicious. «Anyway, my inner Bishonen-Radar started sounding when I saw him, so he must be quite something... especially if he left you starting at him with that silly smile on your face.»

''Silly smile''? Was she smiling without realizing it?

She quickly touched her face to verify it and found out that indeed she was smiling. She blushed, while Nami's grin grew wider. Still, she probably learned a little bit of delicacy ever since she got together with her own boyfriend, because she didn't enquire more and just took her wrist, dragging her toward her house.

«Come on, come on! Let's go inside! We have to wash those scratches, and then you have to tell me what this naughty cat made you go through, so I can decide his punishment!»

Without resisting, Misaki let the cousin lead her inside. She was actually really tired after all that happened and was glad that Nami gave up on the subject. After all, she didn't know what to think herself! There was a part of her that just didn't want to think about it, because the more she tried to think, the more the answers escaped from her, giving her the headache.

Still, she just couldn't get his words out her head.

_''Try to think about it''..._

Was it really possible that he knew her? That _she_ knew him? But, if that was the case, _when_ did it happen? And _where_?

**…**

**…**

**…**

The sky was already dark when he finally made it back. Not like he really put an effort into hurrying up: after all, the part of him that didn't want to go back was still there, kicking and screaming to win over the more reasonable part, the one that made him go back. Still, for that day, he wasn't going to let it win. His heavy heart was light again, and he even found himself humming as he reached for the door.

No more than two seconds after opening the door, he immediately heard his brother's deep voice in front of him, immediately followed by his tall figure.

«Here you are! Where the heck did you disappear to?»

He was trying to sound normal, even a little annoyed perhaps, but he couldn't cheat him. After all those years, he knew him too well to fall for it. He was worried: maybe he thought he ended up into troubles.

Well, it wouldn't be the first time something like that happened. He couldn't blame him if he thought so. But this time was different.

He greeted him with his best ironic smile.

«Is that the way to greet your beloved little brother? I expected a ''Welcome back'' or something. If you keep behaving this way, people will get scared, you know?»

His brother shrugged and smirked, showing his teeth in a somewhat scary way.

«Why, did I scare you, _little brother_?»

«Uhmmm...». He passed by his side and stretched his arm to reach for his head, and patted it as he would pat a puppy's head. «No, you looked _cute_, _big brother_.»

He headed toward the window, looking outside with a huge grin on his face. He felt his brother's presence behind him, and he knew that he was wondering what happened for him to come back so pleased. He was probably _dying_ to know it... and he had all the intentions of telling him, first because he knew he would be happy about it too, and second because he really, really, really wanted to go on an on for the whole evening chanting _''I was right, I was right, I was right''_ in his ears. That would be funny!

«So, are you going to tell me where you went or not? Because if you don't, I have a lot of things to worry about and don't have time for...»

Not honest as always! Ah, if he just admitted that he _wanted _to know, everything would be a lot more easy. He would deserve not to be told anything. But he wasn't so cruel to keep him waiting for all that time, especially because he couldn't wait to tell him himself.

So he turned around, flashing his infamous seraphic smile at him as he slowly said the words his brothers was waiting for.

«_She_ is back.»


	2. From our childhood, with love

_Wow, this one was long! I wasn't really sure if I had to separate it in different chapters at first, but then I realized it all happened in one day, so I couldn't get myself to split it. I just hope it won't be too boring, and that I managed to mix the in-game events and the ones invented by me in the right way. Well, that's it! Have fun reading (I hope)!_

_**CHAPTER 1**_

_**From our childhood, with love**_

_«Are you ready?»_

_«Not yet!»_

_Children voices resounded around her. Voices that she knew, familiar voices that she didn't forget, despite the time that passed._

_«Are you ready?»_

_«Not yet!»_

_She could hear the impatience in the first voice and the hurry in the second, while quick footsteps approached her._

_Those sentences, those words... weren't they the one used when you play hide-and-seek? Yes, definitely. _

_She raised her head, looking around. Somehow, she couldn't see well: everything was kind of in a blur, the colours were confused, overlapped. And yet she knew that place, it was familiar. There was a building, a small building with a door that couldn't be opened, and trees and grass all around._

_She was sitting on the grass, and, when she lowered her gaze again, she could see her small hands -the hands of a child._

_«Are you ready?»_

_«Not yet!»_

_The first voice was even more impatient than before, the footstep neared and nearer._

_They were playing hide-and-seek. She was playing with them too: she was sure of that. Then why didn't she go and hide? If she just stayed there, the demon would catch her and then it would be her turn to search for the others. She had to get up and hide! Come on! Get up!_

_''But I can't!'' a little voice answered inside of her head. The voice of a scared kid. ''I can't hide alone! If I hide in the trees alone, the wolves will catch me!''_

_...Yeah, the wolves! She remembered them. When she was younger, maybe three or four years old, that idiot of her cousin Tsukushi, one year older than her, told her that the wolves were going to come and eat her if he didn't do as he pleased; and she believed that. She remembered that unreasonable fear of the wolves, a fear that lasted for years, until she was old enough to realize that wolves don't hang around the places where people live, and they don't go and attack children just for the heck of it. Still she could now understand why the child that was herself couldn't move and didn't want to go hide alone._

_«Here you are!»_

_The footsteps stopped and a little boy appeared in front of her. His features were a little blurred: after all, years passed from the last time she saw him. Still, she recognized him. She recognized his smile as he crouched beside her._

_Ruka. Sakurai Ruka._

_It was weird how she remembered his name, even after all those year. Yet, for some reason, it was always in the back of her head, together with..._

_«Are you ready or not?»_

_«Not yet!» Ruka screamed toward the direction were the voice of the demon came from, before grasping her hand._

_«Let's go hide, or he'll find us!»_

_«We'll hide together, right? You'll protect me from the wolves?» she asked with a smile._

_He nodded and smiled... but, as soon as he mentioned the word ''protect'', something became a little off in his expression. As if the mouth was smiling, but his eyes weren't._

_«Why are you sad?» she asked without thinking and, for a second, he looked at her with his eyes open wide, as if he didn't really understand the question._

_«I'm not sad. Come on, we have to hurry! You don't want to be the demon, right?»_

_Of course she didn't want to! Being the demon was dangerous! If she stayed out of the trees, the wolves wouldn't come and get her. They were scared of the light of the sun. But between the trees there wasn't the sun, and the wolves would get her for sure! If Ruka was there to hide with her, it was okay: the wolves never came if someone was with her. But being the demon meant being alone._

_She loved hide-and-seek. It was probably her favourite game. And, despite the wolves, she liked playing there, because it looked like a realm of fairies. But she didn't want to be the demon._

_She shook her head quickly and stood up, her hand still in Ruka's hand. His smile became normal again and he dragged her between the trees._

_They never got very far -maybe Ruka was secretly scared of the wolves too?- only enough for the demon not to spot them. That time, though, he was leading her a little further: probably because they played so many times that by then the demon had all they usual hiding spots figured out. Moreover, hiding in two was harder than hiding alone: they needed a good place._

_They walked for not more than a couple of minutes, when suddenly Ruka stopped dead on his track, looking at a more bright place between the trees._

_«Look!» he said, pulling her hand to lead her in that direction._

_«What's there, Ruka?» she asked, trying to follow his gaze to see what he was looking at._

_Yet, she couldn't see anything._

_He didn't answer: just flashed a naughty smile at her and, still holding her hand, ran up to the spot. The two of them stopped next to a big tree and there he pointed at the ground with a big smile._

_There, there were some flowers. They were small, cute and the fact that she had never seen them before made them look like something magical._

_«Cute flowers!» she whispered, squatting down next to them to look at them more closely. She would have liked to pick them, but she felft as if she would break something if she did._

_«So this is were they bloom!» Ruka said, crouching down next to her._

_She looked up at him questioningly, frowning slightly._

_«Why? Don't they bloom anywhere else?»_

_He bit his bottom lip thoughtfully, maybe looking for a way to answer, but in the end he decided not to. Instead, he took her hand and, after carefully picking one of the flowers, he handed it to her._

_«For you.»_

_«Thank you!»_

_She carefully took the flower from his hand and raised it next her nose to smell it... but she was interrupted by another voice, the voice of the ''demon''._

_«Found you!»_

_Another little boy appeared on the border of the trees. His features, like Ruka's, were a little blurred in her memories, but she knew who he was._

_Sakurai Kouichi, Ruka's elder brother. A tall boy with a rough appearance and a frowny face, but a kind heart. The older brother she always wanted but never had. He was always the one playing as the demon, because he knew she was scared of the wolves, while he wasn't scared of anything._

_He was strong. Nothing could hurt him. At least, that was what she thought._

_Kouichi quickly approached them with a wide grin on his face._

_«Now it's your turn to be the demon, Ruka!» he said, but his younger brother barely heard him at all. Instead, he raised from his crouched position and gave his older brother a big, shining smile._

_«Kou, I found them!»_

_Kouichi raised an eyebrow and his grin became a little crooked._

_«Idiot Ruka! You two were not supposed to find anything! You should go and hide. That's hide-and-seek!»_

_Ruka appeared a little perplexed at first, but then quickly shook his head and pointed at the flower._

_«I mean those flowers!»_

_This time Kouichi was seriously confused, making his gaze wonder from his little brother enthusiastic smile, the flower in his friend's hand and, finally, the group of flowers blooming next to the tree._

_«Flowers?»_

_Even if he still looked sceptical, he crouched beside her to look at the flowers more closely, but, after some seconds of careful examination, he just shrugged._

_«What's so special about them?»_

_Ruka sighed as if his older brother was asking something really obvious, than explained with an air of importance._

_«This flower is the key of the fairies.»_

_She raised her head with her eyes opened wide._

_«Really? So they are magical? What do they do?»_

_Ruka crouched next to them again, in front of the little flowers._

_«They can grant you one wish.»_

_«Then if I wish all the wolves to disappear, it will work?» she asked innocently._

_Kouichi raised an eyebrow again, grinning by himself, and Ruka laughed._

_«It doesn't work this way!»_

_«Then how does it work?»_

_«If you have a person in your heart, someone that you want to see more than anyone else in the world, it can take you that person» he explained with a very serious voice._

_«Even if that person is far, far away?» she asked again, impressed._

_Ruka nodded._

_«Yes.»_

_«Wow!» she whispered, looking carefully at the flower she had in her hand. «It must be really magic, then! I want to try it!»_

_Kouichi rolled his eyes and got up, the usual sceptical look on his face._

_«It's a lie. It's not possible.»_

_«It's not a lie. It's true!» Ruka replied in a sharp tone she wasn't used to hear from him. It was as if, with his answer, Kouichi argued about something that was very dear to him. Still, he didn't seem to realize it and, in front of his younger brother insistence, became even more stubborn._

_«It's a lie!»_

_«No!»_

_Ruka got up to and, while he was shorter and thinner than his older brother, his face looked angry and stubborn enough to leave an impression._

_Looking at them that way, she smelled the danger and quickly got up, breaking the two of them before they could start fighting._

_«Don't quarrel, the both of you!»_

…

…

_Now the scene was different. She was still together with Kouichi and Ruka, but they weren't between the trees anymore. They were in front of the building with the always closed door._

_She had just given them the bad news: she wouldn't be able to come and play with them anymore. Now both her friends were looking at her with shocked faces. Then, slowly, the shock disappeared: Ruka remained silent, as if someone stole his voice away, while Kouichi looked at her as if she was the worst traitor ever._

_«Why?» he finally said in a sharp voice._

_She looked down at the point of her feet, letting her fringe cover part of her face._

_«My parents said that we are going to leave the city and I have to go with them.»_

_«Why?» Kouichi repeated. «Let them go and just stay here on your own!»_

_She shook her head, sad._

_«I can't.»_

_Kouichi clutched his fists and hit the wall with a punch, without turning back toward her. She couldn't see his face, and she would have liked to go next to him, but she didn't know how he would react if she did. Maybe he would just push her away..._

_Ruka, who remained silent all that time, suddenly broke the silence. His eyes were sad, but not the same hopeless sadness she happened to see at times. This time she knew why he was sad: like Kouichi, he didn't want her to go. Still, when he talked, he was smiling._

_«Then I'll look for the key of the fairies again. So, even if you're far away, we'll be sure that we'll see each other again.»_

_She raised her head, looking at Ruka's reassuring smile. He looked so sure of himself that she really did want to believe him. But..._

_«Just stop it! It's only a lie!» Kouichi screamed, turning toward them again._

_Maybe he wanted to believe it too, like Ruka did. Maybe he really wanted to, but he didn't have the courage to hope._

_Ruka glanced briefly at his brother, before turning toward her again, the usual sweetness in his eyes and smile._

_«Do you believe it?»_

…

…

…

…

_**«SAKI! DON'T SLACK OFF! WAKE UP RIGHT NOW!»**_

«WAAAAH!»

As soon as she heard the voice scream in her ears, Misaki quickly rose up from her bed, her heart pounding like crazy because of the scare. The images of the dream exploded in front of her eyes like bubbles and she found herself back in her room, frantically looking around for the source of the voice that woke her up... only to realize that it was her older cousin Tsukushi's voice and it came from her own cellphone! And this solved the mystery of what that grown up brat was doing with her cellphone, when she saw him fiddling with it. And this explained also why he had that evil expression when he finally handed it back to her. He was preparing her a joke to wake her up on her first day of school!

«That _IDIOT_!» she growled, turning off Tsukushi's evil alarm clock and crawling back under the sheets, her pillow on the head, hoping to restart the dream from where she left it.

She was having such a nice dream...or at least, she thought so. Actually, as soon as she heard the alarm clock screaming in her ears, she woke up so suddenly that in a second she forgot what was happening. One thing she remembered, though: the Sakurai brothers were in there.

Kouichi and Ruka. Her childhood friends with whom she used to play when she was a kid. Back then, the three of them were very close and, when she was forced to leave them, she missed them a lot. It took a lot of time for her to think about them without feeling like she had a torn in her heart and, even now, thinking about them still made her chest sting.

Still, she wasn't sure about the reason why the two of them suddenly popped up in her dreams. She didn't think about them before falling asleep. She was thinking about what the boy from the day before said. He said to try and think about who he was...

She closed her eyes and she would probably fall asleep once again, if right then her alarm clock (the real one, the one she set herself the night before) didn't starts ringing.

«Ahhh, not yet! I want to sleep!» she muttered, covering her ears with the pillow and blindly looking for the alarm clock with her hand.

She found it, shut it down and closed her eyes. She wanted to sleep just for five minutes, not more than that. Who knows, maybe she would dream about her childhood friends again... She kind of wanted to see them, after all that time. She still missed them, even after all those years...

«Misaki! The breakfast is ready!»

Misaki was already fluttering somewhere in Dreamland when her mother's voice reached her from far, far away...

...Strange. She set her alarm clock at half past seven, but her mother didn't get up until...

Wait a second! How much time did she sleep for?

She turned under the sheet to glance at the alarm clock, the red numbers on the display that seemed to laugh at her.

**8:00**

«AAAAAAHHHH!»

She jumped out of the bed, feeling suddenly very awake. She slept for half an hour and now she was horribly late. Late on her first day! How could a school year start worse than that?

One second later, she was already dashing around the house like an hurricane, trying to get dressed, wash her teeth and have breakfast all at the same time. Somehow she managed to be ready on time, but, right before going out, her mother warned her that she wore her new school uniform on the wrong side... meaning that she had to go back in her room to fix it, making her be late once again. So no wonder that, when she finally left the house, she was running as if a crazy murderer was following her, without looking at where she was going.

«Darn it, _darn it_, _DARN IT_! Why the heck school have to start so early in the morning? And who's that idiot that decided we have to wake up in the morning in the first place? Why do his stupid ideas have to relate with me?» she muttered by herself as she opened the gate of the courtyard with a kick and dashed outside.

She barely took the time to close it, before quickly turning around to start running again... but, as she did, she crashed against something big that stood in her way.

«Ouch!» she exclaimed, backing away quickly, her hand covering her nose.

The collision had been so violent that it looked to her as if she clashed against a boulder, but, when her eyes focused again, she realized that the ''boulder'' not only was wearing clothes, but was also _alive_!

Still feeling a little numb after the impact, Misaki, slowly raised her head to verify what did she collide against and she finally saw the face of the _thing _looking down at her. The face of a young man, but indeed a scary one: short black hair pulled back like those of the gangsters in the noir movies she used to watch, harsh features, sharp eyes and a very frowned expression that made him look as if he was going to attack her any moment.

«Hey, be careful!» the young man said with a deep, kind of rude voice.

Misaki quickly backed away, staring at him with her eyes opened wide. He was still looking at her with that frowny and scary face of his and he would definitely look like a thug... if not for the fact that he was wearing a school uniform. But it wasn't a normal school uniform: it was _the same uniform has hers. _The uniform of Habataki High!

That guy was one of her schoolmates?

«Erm...» she tried to speak, even if his sharp gaze was still pointed on her as if he was trying to stab her with his eyes. «I'm... sorry. I wasn't looking...»

He kept looking at her, raising his thin, black eyebrow sceptically, as if she was saying something very stupid. And she was indeed stammering like an idiot! Okay, he _did _look kind of like a thug, but that wasn't a reason to be scared... or was it?

Then, the guy looked down for a second, as if her stammering made him feel sad and, when he looked at her again, his expression was just a little bit softer. Right then Misaki realized that, when he didn't have that frowned face on, he wasn't bad looking at all... still a little scary, though, considering how tall he was.

«No need to make that scared face, you know? It's not like I'm going to assault and rob you, or something» he sighed.

«Nonononono! It's not what I was thinking!» she tried to make up for it when she realized that her attitude had been impolite toward the stranger. She had no right to give judgement only based on his appearance. Also, she didn't like people who did it. «It's just that you appeared so suddenly. I was just surprised, really.»

She showed him her widest smile, hoping that the ''puppy eyes'' technique would work... but it didn't. Still looking sceptical, the guy opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by another voice coming from the right.

«How many times do I have to tell you, Kou? If you suddenly appear in front of people and glare at them, of course they will be scared!»

That voice...!

The black haired guy's face turned as frowned as before, and Misaki quickly turned around, looking for the proprietor of that soft, kind of familiar voice. And there he was! This time he was wearing the Habataki High uniform, but it was definitely _him: _the blond guy from the day before.

A shock ran through Misaki's spine and she looked at him in surprise, as he walked next to the black haired guy and confidentially patted his shoulder.

«Don't worry about him» he said. «He looks like a Rottweiler, but he's more like a big puppy. He doesn't bite.»

«Hey, I'm not a _dog, _you idiot!» the black haired guy roared, shaking his hand away... and looking exactly like a big, frowny dog in the process.

Despite her surprise, Misaki could help but laugh. Those two were funny, exactly like...

When they saw her laughing, they both stared at her for a second, as if they were surprised: then the blond guy from the day before smiled, while the black haired one frowned even more.

«What are you laughing at?» he said, glaring at her.

The scary face again! Her smile disappeared in less than a second.

«Sorry!»

The blond guy shook his head and sighed.

«There. He did it again!»

«I haven't done anything! _She _was the one laughing without a reason!» the other one replied, gritting his teeth.

«Actually, I just thought you were funny. I didn't mean any offence» Misaki answered, trying to explain herself.

«Mph!»

The black haired guy narrowed his eyes and kept staring at her suspiciously, but at least he didn't look angry. It was more as if he was... pouting, or something like that. He really did look somewhat like a big puppy, exactly as the blond guy said.

Ah, by the way...!

She turned toward the other guy, who was still looking at her with the same amused expression of the day before.

«You are the guy from yesterday. What are you doing here?» she asked.

He looked up thoughtfully, as if he was thinking about it, then shrugged.

«I came to give you a hint. I thought that, if you saw us together, you would understand.»

Understand? Understand what?

For a second, she just stared at them blankly, trying to figure out what he was trying to say. Then a though passed through her mind like a thunderbolt, and she realized something.

The way those two behaved...

The way the blond guy teased the black haired one...

The way the black haired one always frowned...

All those things were familiar to her. Moreover, only a few minutes before, the blond guy called the other one ''Kou''...

Her jaw dropped and she stood there like an idiot, staring at the two of them with her mouth comically opened.

The two guys exchanged glances.

«I think she got it» the blond one said.

«Finally!» the other one answered. «I thought she would never realize.»

«Well, it's been quite some time, Kou. What did you expect?»

Still under the effect of the shock, Misaki took a step forward, making her eyes wander between the two boys, staring at their faces, putting the pieces back together. Then, finally, her gaze stopped on the blond one, who was waiting for her answer with that seraphic smile of his.

«Sakurai Ruka?» she said, not really sure if she was _saying it_ or _asking it._

His smile grew wider, and he nodded.

«Correct.»

Then she turned toward the black haired one, who was now looking at her with impatience.

«Sakurai Kouichi?»

For a second there, his expression softened and he almost smiled. Almost.

«Yeah.»

Misaki's mind broke and she found herself staring at the two guys, unable to say anything.

After her family moved back in Habataki City, she thought about the two of them. She wondered if they still remembered her, if they missed her too, if only a little bit. She even wondered what to do, if she happened to meet them again. She thought that, once she'll have them in front of her again, she would have a whole lot of things to say, a lot of things to ask them, a lot of things to tell them. And yet, now they were there, and she couldn't find anything to say!

Seeing how she seemed to have lost her words, the two brothers exchanged glances, then Ruka turned toward her again and, with his best smile, he said:

«Welcome back, Misaki-chan. Would you walk to school with us, today?»

Something soft and warm wrapped around her chest. She wasn't even sure how she felt: there was a part of herself that wanted to laugh and hug them, while another part just wanted to cry.

They still remembered! They didn't forget about her, and came back to meet her! They had no idea how much that meant to her.

She finally got her voice back and, despite her eyes being already a bit wet, she gave the two brothers her widest smile.

«Do you even have to ask?»

…

…

…

«I still can't believe it! I mean, it really do look like it was decided from the very beginning! The meeting of yesterday, and the fact that we are going at the same school! How many probabilities there were? And yet, it happened! It must have been fate!» Misaki said with a big smile on her face, while walking along the street toward school together with her two childhood friend.

«According to my calculation... less than zero» Ruka answered. «Then it was probably really fate. Right, Kou?»

Kouichi shrugged.

«A coincidence. That's how you'd normally call it.»

Ruka and Misaki exchanged glances, then they both turned toward Kouichi, staring at him with big eyes, like two kids.

«I don't see the difference» she said.

«Me neither» Ruka added, and Kouichi could do nothing but shrug again.

«That's 'cause you are like two elementary school kiddies. _Everyone _could tell the difference.»

Ruka shook his head slowly, than sent Misaki a meaningful look.

«Poor Kou! He's too cynical to notice that fate and coincidences are the same thing!» he said tragically, and Misaki laughed... but quickly covered her mouth with her hand when she realized Kouichi was glaring at them.

«Anyway» she said, trying to avoid that their meeting turned into a big argument, «if Ruka didn't recognize me, I certainly wouldn't. You are completely different from when we were small!»

Yes, different, and yet still the same. Kouichi was still the tall, strong and frowny guy he was back then, and Ruka still had his old sly look and sweet smile. But they weren't kids anymore: Kouichi looked a lot more impressive -in every meaning-, while Ruka had a smooth way of talking and behaving he certainly didn't have back then. And they were both _very _good-looking, even if in very different ways: Ruka had his angel face, while Kouichi had a sort of rough and wild charm. One thing was sure, though: at first glance, no one would say they were siblings. They didn't look alike: even as kids they didn't particularly resembled each other, but now the difference was even more striking!

«Of course I recognized you: you haven't changed at all. But it's no surprise you wouldn't recognize Kou: he has become big and rough like and ogre, hasn't he?» Ruka said with a smirk.

Kouichi glared briefly at him, but, when he talked, he sounded calm, almost resigned, like a parent dealing with a child... or a big brother with his naughty younger brother.

«She said that we have _both _changed, Ruka. You too.»

Misaki, who was busy trying to find something similar in their appearances and followed the last part of the conversation only halfway, looked at Kouichi with a confused face.

«Ruka looks like an ogre too?»

She quickly turned toward Ruka, examining him carefully. He looked like everything _but _an ogre.

«I don't think so» she said, thoughtfully. «He looks more like an elf. The one who looks like a ogre is definitely you, Kouichi.»

Ruka started laughing really hard and Kouichi glared at her even more then before. She realized she said something really stupid and tried to make up for it, even if it was already too late.

«I don't mean it in a bad way! You know, not all ogres are bad. For example... for example...»

Yeah, for example what? Was there even an ogre who wasn't a bad, ugly guy in the first place? Then she remembered and smiled brightly, pointing the finger upward as if she suddenly had a great revelation.

«I know it! You look like Shre...»

«_You're saying I look like a big, green potato with funnels as ears?_» Kouichi slowly said, before she could even finish the word.

«Erm... Well, no. You're not green» she said with a nervous grin.

Kouichi growled under his breath, while Ruka laughed so hard it looked like he could die any moment.

«Then you still look like a potato with funnels as ears, Kou! Misaki-chan, you're a genius!» he said.

She smiled a little shyly at him and played nervously with a strand of her hair. Actually, it was kind of funny... especially if she tried to imagine a green ogre with funnels as ears with Kouichi's hair and his same frowned face.

She covered her mouth with both hands to stop her laugher, but it didn't work. Every time she tried to stop, Ogre-Kouichi face reappeared in her mind, making her laugh again.

Kouichi sighed noisily.

«Ahh... What did I get myself into?» he muttered. «As if BakaRuka wasn't enough.»

«Sorry» she apologized, even if the amused smile was still there. «You're not angry, right?»

He looked up in exasperation.

«I'm used to it. I live with Ruka, in case you didn't notice.»

Misaki glanced toward Ruka, and noticed that, as soon as his brother called his name, his usual smile became somewhat _evil_, as if he was plotting something.

«Cruel Kou!» he muttered, pretending to be offended, even if his evil grin was still at its place.

Kouichi ignored him, or at least tried to, and quickened his pace.

«Anyway, if you don't get a move on, we'll be late. Let's try to be on time _at least_ for the opening ceremony.»

Realizing that he was right, both Ruka and Misaki followed his example and quickened up their pace, but then she realized there was something off. He said: ''Let's try to be on time for the opening ceremony''. She knew that Ruka was her age, but wasn't Kouichi older?

«Kouichi, are you attending the ceremony too?»

He didn't turn to look at her, only glancing in her direction from over his shoulder.

«Yeah. So what?»

«Nothing. I was just thinking that you are Ruka's older brother, so...»

Her voice wore off as she realized that the expressions of the two guys had suddenly changed. Ruka chewed his bottom lip thoughtfully, as if he was unsure if answering or not, while Kouichi eyes narrowed.

«Sorry» she apologized, realizing that they both didn't want to talk about it. «I won't ask any further.»

Kouichi nodded and his features relaxed a little.

«Good. There's nothing interesting to know, anyway.»

At his brother answer, Ruka just grinned sourly, but didn't say anything, increasing Misaki's suspicions about the matter. Still, even if there really was something serious going on, if they didn't want to talk, she had no right to insist. They could be her childhood friends all she wanted, but the three of them had been apart for a lot of time, growing up separately. She didn't know what they had become while she was away. It was sad to realize it, but they were just one step away from being complete strangers.

If she wanted their trust, she had to gain it back.

«Anyway, we have five minutes to get there» Kouichi announced all of a sudden, as if it was somebody else's problem.

«What?»

Misaki jumped in surprise and quickly checked the hour on the display of her cellphone. He was indeed right.

«Damn it! It's already this late! We'll never make it!»

Finally Ruka's seraphic smile, that disappeared during the awkward silence from before, returned on his face.

«Who said that? We are not late yet. Right, Kou?»

Kouichi didn't answer, but showed a werewolf smile that was worth more than a million words. Their eyes met, they both nodded and, one second later...

«Misaki-chan, let's run!» Ruka announced briefly, before the both of them started running.

«Eh?»

For a few seconds, she just stood there in surprise, looking at their backs as they ran like rockets, before she got herself together and started running behind them.

«Hey, you two! Wait!»

The three of them ran for exactly four minutes, Misaki a few steps behind the two brothers, until finally the school gates appeared in front of them. Ruka crossed them first and stopped, raising his arms in an heroic pose.

«Safe!» he announced. «Today's winner is me!»

Kouichi entered the gate a second after him, not tired at all because of his long legs, while Misaki shortly followed him, her face almost as red as the scarf of her uniform, panting greatly and with a dangerous look in her eyes.

«Kou manages to conquer a second place, while third place goes to Nomura Misaki, who becomes today's Loser!» Ruka said like an announcer while she breathed hard to recollect her breath.

Misaki glared at him, clutching her fists.

«Hey, that's not fair! First thing, you two cheated and started first... and nobody said it was going to be a race!»

«In fact, I decided to turn it into a race kind of... thirty seconds ago!» he answered cheerfully, while Misaki growled and Kouichi rolled his eyes.

«Be aware that I want a... revenge?»

She had started in an angry voice, but it turned into a more dubious one when she realized what was happening all around them. They were on time, so the courtyard of the school was still crowded with students. This was normal. What _wasn't _normal was that silence! Why weren't they chatting, laughing or generally minding their own business like they would usually do? And, more than everything, why were they all looking at them?

''Have we done something strange?'' she thought, but immediately decided that wasn't the reason. They didn't do anything strange: they were just three friends arriving at school like everyone else. Of course, they barely arrived on time, but they weren't the first, nor they would be the lasts to do something like that. There was nothing weird about that.

Then, why was everyone looking at them? And why some people had that scared faces?

Then, in the middle of that tense silence, she heard some whispering coming from the crowd.

«Hey, aren't they the Sakurai Brothers?»

«Are you sure? Are they really _the _Sakurai Brothers?»

«What are they doing here?»

«Darn it, we are screwed!»

«And the girl?»

«Yeah, who's that girl? Why is she with them?»

«I don't know, but if she's with the Sakurai Brothers, she must be up to no good!»

Misaki looked around frantically, trying to figure out from all those whispers the reason of everyone's hostile and scared attitude. Looked like Ruka and Kouichi were already popular, but _definitely _not in a good way. But why? What in the world could they have done? And why she, only because of the fact that she was with them, must have been ''up to no good''?

«Ruka, Nomura, let's get going» Kouichi said, his deep voice raising over the whispering of the crowd of students, and walked toward the entrance, while everyone else retreated from his path as if he had some incurable and highly contagious disease.

Ruka appeared beside Misaki and put an hand on her shoulder, pushing her gently toward the entrance, following his brother's path.

«Don't mind them» he said with his usual calm voice.

«Ruka, what's going on? Why everyone already knows you? And why...?» she asked, worried.

«Who knows? Maybe because we are good-looking?» he answered with his usual smile, but Misaki couldn't help but noticing there was something off. If she had to point it out, she wouldn't be able to: he didn't look worried, nor angry, nor anything. But, right because she couldn't read over that poker face he put on, she felt even more worried.

«I don't think so. Are you really sure you don't know what's going on? It looks like everyone is scared of you.»

He shrugged.

«Just don't listen to them. They got it all wrong anyway.»

''What is it that 'they got all wrong'?'' she wanted to ask, but, as she saw the other students retreating in front of them, as she watched Kouchi's back figure and Ruka's unreadable expression, she realized that there was a side of her that didn't want to know.

What she thought before was true: she didn't know anything about what her childhood friends had become. She _wanted _to be sure that it was nothing, but she couldn't be. So, whatever those people thought, if those were only rumours, if they didn't have proofs that her friends did something wrong... then she didn't want to know. As long as they didn't show her real _facts_ instead of free rumours, then she knew who to believe. And, as long as Ruka and Kouichi said there was nothing to worry about, she wouldn't worry.

Or at least, she would try not to.

…

…

…

When the speech of the headmaster finally ended, Misaki left the auditorium together with the other students.

It was a nice speech about enjoying the high school life not only by studying, but also having fun, finding friends and possibly love. Also, the headmaster, whose name was Amanohashi Ikkaku, looked like the type who's really close to his students. She would probably had a nice impression of him... if she didn't hear weird stories about him from her own cousin, who had been a student there before her. Apparently, he was some kind of an old geezer who pretended to be some mystery man with her, popping up everywhere she went and even giving her roses! Definitely creepy! That was the reason why Misaki sort of started with a prejudice toward him and decided that she would stay away from him no matter what!

She was a little disappointed, though, that she couldn't see the teacher Miki told her so much about, Himuro Reichi. From what she said, back when she was in high school, he was one of the youngest teachers there and, by they way she described him, he was ''stunningly good-looking, but personality like ice''. Since he was a maths teacher, and she already had problems in maths on her own, she hoped not to have him as a teacher... but she was kind of curious to verify personally the ''stunningly good-looking'' part.

Oh, well... Maybe next time!

«1-A, 1-A, 1-A...» she repeated by herself as she passed in front of the various classrooms doors, looking for her own.

She had hoped to be in the same class with Ruka and Kouichi, or at least one of them, so that at least she wouldn't be alone, but she wasn't lucky and she had to say goodbye to her childhood friends in the auditorium. Maybe she was being clingy, but she couldn't help but feeling a little sad by having to already separate from them. After all, she just meet them again after a lot of time! She would have wanted to spend a lot of time with them, and yet she had to be content with the few minutes they spent together that morning...

''Oh, come on, don't be stupid!'' she thought, shaking the sadness away. ''It's not like you won't see them ever again! There's always the lunch break, right? And there's tomorrow, too, and the day after tomorrow! You have a lot of time you can spend with them! Also, this is a nice chance to make new friends!''

Yes, of course. It was right. But still...

With one last sigh, she stopped in front of the last classroom of the corridor. ''1-A'' was written on the sign. That was it.

No one else was coming that way, so maybe she was the last one. From over the door, she could hear the chatting of her new classmates, and that was enough to make her feel a little unease.

She had to share the class with those people for the rest of the year, so she should make a good first impression, right?

After taking a deep breath, she put her best smile on her face and opened the door.

«Good morning» she said politely, but her smile froze and disappeared when her entrance was greeted with an awkward silence.

Like in the courtyard, everyone was now looking at her... and their faces weren't very encouraging. Everyone stopped their chit-chatting and was now staring at her the same was they stared Ruka and Kouichi before. This time, though, there wasn't Ruka to tell her not to listen to them, nor there was Kouichi's impressive appearance to shut everyone's up. She was alone and, since she wasn't as impressive as her two friends, the people in the class didn't stay silent for long. Without even bothering to answer her greeting, they soon started talking again with perfectly audible voices... and she didn't like what they said.

«Hey, isn't she the girl that was together with the Sakurai Brothers before?» a boy said, leaning toward his friend.

«Yeah, definitely! Hey, if she's a friend of theirs... does it mean that they'll hang around here often?»

«Damn right! Geez, I hope that's not the case!»

«If she was with the Sakurai Brothers, than she must be some sort of thug too, even if she doesn't look like it» a girl said.

«Scary! I don't want her to sit next to me!» another one cried, bracing herself.

«Let's not let her, then. Let's sit all together, so she won't be able to.»

''WHAT?''

Misaki couldn't believe her ears. She hadn't done anything wrong, they didn't even know her... and they were already sabotaging her? But _why_?

She felt her blood burning in her veins and her face became bright red because of anger. She kind of wanted to go and punch somebody in the face, but she couldn't. She was at school, and she couldn't afford to end up in trouble on her first day. Also, if she did something so reckless, those kind of voices would only increase. So, she had only one option left: showing to have more dignity then them and live with it. After all, she was right. She didn't do anything wrong.

She raised her head and walked inside without a word, looking for a place to sit. When they saw she was looking around, most of the girls quickly took their places, sitting next to each other so as not to leave any place left in that area of the classroom.

''See why I prefer male friends over female friends?'' Misaki though to herself.

Ever since she was little, she always had more male friends because, for some reason, girls didn't like her, and she ended up not liking other girls either... at least girls that had that kind of attitude. And apparently that class was full of _that kind of girls._

Without a word or a sign of disappointment, Misaki walked toward the side of the class where most boys were sitting and spotted and empty desk between a guy with orange, spiky hair and a black haired guy with a plain, but kind face.

«This place is not busy, right?» she asked to no one in particular.

The orange haired guy raised his head to look at her. He looked like the sporty type and was kind of cute, with big, dark eyes similar to the ones of a puppy. Also, he didn't freak out when he saw her.

«Not that I know of» he simply said.

«Okay. Thank you.»

She smiled at him and he shrugged, before turning away to talk with a friend of his.

Misaki put her bag on the desk and quietly sit at her new place, before taking a quick look around. Right then, she realized that the guy with black hair had turned toward her and was looking at her curiously. When their eyes met, he blushed bright red.

«Ah... G-good morning» he stammered, embarrassed because she caught him looking at her.

«Good morning» she said, smiling. «You need something?»

If possible, he blushed even more and opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the voice of a guy sitting in front of him.

«...And this is how Taira Kenta fell in love with the Thug Girl» he teased him, and the poor guy became as red as a tomato.

«Just shut up!» Taira said, punching the back of his friend. «And don't call her 'Thug Girl'! It's impolite!»

«I don't mind. 'Thug Girl' is quite a cool nickname. I might get used to it» she answered, laughing. «Anyway, my real name is Nomura Misaki... just in case you might need to use it.»

Both Taira and his friend smiled, and the last one blinked toward his friend.

«Mh! Looks like the Thug Girl is a nice girl, too. Make your moves on her quickly, Taira, or she'll be taken soon.»

«Cut it out, I told you! S-sorry about that, Nomura-san!»

Misaki smiled and shook her head, somewhat pleased.

''This is _definitely _why I like boys over girls'' she thought once again.

She didn't have the time to say anything, though, because right then the door opened and an high voice asked for the silence.

«Class, be quiet!»

Thinking it had to be their homeroom teacher, the students immediately shut up... but, much to their surprise, instead of the teacher they were expecting, there was a kid with short, black hair wearing a suit.

«Hey there!» he greeted them with a huge grin.

The students just glanced at him with a slight curiosity, before turning back at what they were doing without paying him much attention. Misaki was one of the few people who kept looking at him, wondering what was an elementary school kid doing there. Still, he didn't let the class inattention disappoint him and, with a big smile on his childish face, spoke even louder:

«What is it? I'm not speaking loud enough? I said: ''Hey there!''»

Finally, the rest of the class decided to pay attention, even if out of perplexity more than anything. They were all wondering the same thing: who was that kid?

Seeing that finally everyone was paying attention, he lowered his voice a little bit and spoke again.

«So, everyone, from now on I'll be your homeroom teacher!»

Everyone's jaws dropped. That kid, _a teacher_?

While the students started whispering again, the ''teacher'' quickly wrote something on the blackboard and then looked at his class with a somewhat ironic smirk.

«That's my name. Who wants to read it?»

Everyone remained silent, staring at the blackboard. Misaki stood a little on the chair, trying to read the characters from over the head of the boy sitting in front of her.

_**''Great Power''**_

That's what was written on it. Someone started giggling, but the child-looking teacher didn't seem to mind.

«Come on, come on! Is there a volunteer? Do you want me to choose?»

Again, nobody spoke, so the teacher looked around, examining the students faces until his glance fell on Misaki, who was still leaning on the desk trying to figure out how to read the name written on the blackboard.

«That girl over there!»

Seeing that he was looking in her direction, Misaki jumped and almost fell from the chair.

''What? Me?'' she wondered, looking around to see if there was another girl nearby.

No, there wasn't.

«No need to look around like that. I won't bite you. So, what's your name?» the teacher asked with a reassuring smile.

«Er... Nomura Misaki, sensei» she answered.

He nodded, pleased.

«Good. Then, Nomura, could you please read at the blackboard?»

With no other choice, she agreed and narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out how could she read those characters, but, no matter how hard she tried, the meaning remained the same.

«...''Great power''» she finally gave up, almost expecting the rest of the class to laugh. Still, they were probably thinking the same thing, because nobody laughed.

The teacher looked even more pleased and chuckled quietly by himself, before finally correcting her.

«It's ''Osako Chikara''! The one who, despite being small, has a great power!»

A brief silence followed, after which the students started laughing, together with the teacher himself. In the end, when the laughter ended, Osako-sensei said:

«So, are there any questions?»

The boy sitting in front of Taira, the one who nicknamed Misaki ''Thug Girl'', immediately raised his hand.

«Sensei, how old are you?» he asked.

Osako-sensei greeted the question with a crooked grin, as if he was expecting it, then answered:

«Twenty-four, of course. Why, do I look older, perhaps?»

''Nope. A lot younger'' Misaki though, as the rest of the class laughed again.

«Other questions, other than my age?»

This time, a girl raised her hand.

«Sensei, do you have a girlfriend?»

He nodded.

«Of course I have. My lover is... teaching!»

This time, nobody laughed. Everyone just looked at him as if he was crazy, and he let out an embarrassed laugh.

«Sorry, sorry. I was joking. No, I have no girlfriend, but if you know someone who might be my type, let me know!»

A perfectly noticeable whispering started spreading in the side of the classroom where most girls sat, and someone giggled. Probably some of them found the young teacher kind of cute. A little perplexed, Misaki looked thoughtfully at Osako-sensei. He was cute, indeed, but that didn't change the fact that he looked like an elementary school kid. Definitely not her type: she would feel like dating her younger brother, or something.

Right then, the door slammed open, making everyone flinch.

«What is all this turmoil?»

A tall and strict-looking man with glasses entered the classroom... and immediately all the girls' looks were focused on him. In fact, despite his strict attitude and the fact that he was obviously in his thirties, he was indeed very good-looking.

«Ah, Himuro-sensei!» Osako-sensei greeted him, looking a little worried himself. «It's nothing, really. I was just introducing myself to the class...»

''Himuro? So he's the one Miki talked to me about'' Misaki though, examining the handsome teacher very carefully. ''She was damn right. He really does look good!''

And she wasn't the only one to think that. Judging from the whispering in the girls' side of the classroom, the others must have thought the same thing. Still, he didn't seem to appreciate all that chit-chatting and, as soon as the whispers reached his ears, turned toward the class and gave a ice-cold glare at the girls' side.

«Be quiet!»

Unlike Osako-sensei, when he said that, everyone shut their mouth, staring at him with their eyes opened wide, while an heavy silence filled the room. Himuro cleared his throat and introduced himself:

«I am the head-teacher Himuro Reichi and I will also be your maths teacher. I know you are just arrived in our school, but this does not change the facts: you are now high school students, so behave in the appropriate manner. Do not forget that your role here is to study, not causing turmoil. Have you understood?»

Everyone immediately nodded. All the students had understood in less than a second that Himuro wasn't the kind of teacher on whose bad side you want be. He didn't look very forgiving.

«And, Osako-sensei» he added toward their homeroom teacher, «please, keep your class under control. I have just been in the in another class, and those two students- brothers, I think- were causing quite a bit of troubles. I do not want to be forced to intervene every time these kind of things happen.»

''_Brothers_?''

A thunder passed through Misaki's mind, leaving her with a bad, _bad_ feeling about the matter. Maybe it was just her impression; of course Ruka and Kouichi couldn't possibly be the only brothers attending Habataki High. Still, the bad feeling remained and, judging by how everyone was looking at her again, the others must have thought the same thing.

«Anyway, this is all. Please, continue with you introductions» Himuro said, and, with a last strict glare at the student, got out of the class.

As soon as he disappeared from their sight, Osako-sensei let out a deep sigh.

«Well, better keep our voice down!» he said in a low voice, almost whispering. «You don't want Himuro-sensei to close us all in his secret basement and make crazy experiments on us, do you?»

After this joke, the students laughed again and the tension Himuro left behind disappeared. Despite still having a bad feeling about what Himuro said, Misaki forced herself not to think about it. No need to worry. Probably she was just overthinking. Ruka and Kouichi couldn't be so stupid to end up in Himuro's black list right on their first day, right?

Or were they?

…

…

…

Finally the lunch break arrived, together with that little bit of freedom it took to the students' tired minds after a morning of study. When the chime finally rang, Misaki greeted it with relief: still used to her life during holidays, she felt as if someone shot a bullet through her head with that sudden load of work they were putting them through. She remembered that, back in middle school, teacher used to be a little softer on the first days, so as to let the students settle with the new daily routine; she wasn't sure if it was because she was now in high school or if it was simply how things were run in Habataki High, but it didn't look like teacher were trying to make things easier for them. The day was just started, and she was already counting the minutes to the weekend!

While everyone around her started moving around, joining their friends or going out of the classroom, she stretched slowly and finally took out her lunch-box, opening it on the desk to check what was inside with a little bit of worry. Her mother used to prepare her lunches, but had the bad habit of always putting inside something she disliked, because she knew her daughter would eat it, if only not to feel guilty for throwing it away.

That day was the ''Green Pepper Day''. And she put an awful lot of it inside, too.

With a resigned sigh, she closed the lunch-box. Why did her mother insist so much on that stupid green pepper? It was as if she would _die _if she didn't eat it at least once a week! Also, while in middle school she used to ''trade'' the food she didn't like with her friends, the green pepper was a tricky one, because nobody liked it. After all, is there even someone in the world who liked it? And there, at her first school day in Habataki High, she didn't even have many friends to cheer her up on her while she tried to eat it. Maybe it was about time to start preparing her own lunches by herself: she wasn't bad at cooking, after all...

Well, in the meantime there were still Ruka and Kouichi. Maybe they could be willing to have lunch with her... and, who knows, maybe one of them could even stomach that stupid green pepper! Also, she could investigate if it was really them who ended up on Himuro's black list right on the first day.

With a somewhat naughty grin on her face, she got up from her place, grabbed her lunch and started walking toward the door. She was yet to take her second step, though, that a voice called her name.

«Nomura-san!»

It was a girl's voice.

«Yes?»

Since the girls in the class seemed to have decided to boycott her, she couldn't help but be surprised when she saw a little group of girls, five or six of them, coming toward her. One of the girls in the front, who seemed to be the one to speak up for everyone, looked at her with a somewhat snobbish face, keeping a few steps of distance from her as if she was something dirty and scary.

«Say, you were with the Sakurai Brothers this morning, right?»

Misaki frowned and braced herself, preparing for a conversation she was sure she was not going to like.

«Yes. Then, what?»

«''Then, what?''» one of the girls in the back screeched, shocked, but the one who was talking with Misaki shut her up with a gesture.

«How do you know them, exactly?»

«They are my childhood friends» she answered honestly.

The other girls flinched and started whispering noisily between herself, except for the ''leader'', who just narrowed her eyes.

Misaki bit her tongue to hold on her irritation, forcing herself to just give them a dangerous look.

«If you have something to say it, just say it. I don't get why are you making such a scene only because I'm their friend.»

The ''leader'' gave her what looked like a pitiful look, but that was actually a pretty poisonous one.

«If you are their childhood friend, how can you possibly not know? Those guys are dangerous! Do you have a slight idea how many rumours there are about them? They are known for their fights with other school guys, they say they are even into small crimes and stuff...»

If Misaki said that her heart didn't skip a beat when she heard that, it would probably be a lie. She knew that, when a rumour starts spreading, usually there is a reason and knowing that there were that sort of rumours about her childhood friends was... well, certainly not pleasant.

Still, she tried to recollect her composure before the other girls could notice. If it was true that rumours always have something true deep inside, it was also true that they were nothing but exaggerations of the truth. She would be foolish if she believed them.

«Do you have proofs?» she said with a crooked smile, while her look became even more dangerous. «Some of you saw them doing what you claim they did? Or, even if what you say was right, you know '_why_' they did?»

All the girls kept silent, even their snobbish leader. That was enough of an answer for Misaki.

«Then I don't want to hear anything else. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have two friends I'd like to have lunch with» she ended the argument and, after giving the mesmerized girls a big smile, she stood them there and turned toward the door... only to see two familiar figures looking at her from there.

One on each side of the door, Ruka and Kouichi really did look like two gangster waiting for their victim and, by the amused look in their faces, they had just watched the whole scene.

«What are you guys doing here?» she called out to them.

Hearing her, the rest of the people in the classroom finally noticed their presence too, and heavy silence fell in the room, followed by the usual scared whispering.

«We thought we could _share_ the lunch with you» Ruka answered as if he didn't notice, allusively stopping for a second on the world 'share'. «Looks like we came in right in time to see the match Misaki-chan Vs. The Habataki Harpies, though. Nice job you did there!» he added in a lower voice, so that the girls on the other side of the class couldn't hear him.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head in exasperation, as if to say that the world was full of idiots, before answering.

«Okay, then. I wanted to have lunch with you too.»

When they heard her answer, most of her classmates jumped on the defensive, starting at the three of them with evident worry.

«They aren't going to stay and eat here, are they?» a boy said, voicing what everyone was thinking.

Kouichi, who was the nearer, turned toward him with his face as frowned as she had never seen before, his eyes as sharp as knives.

«Have some complaints, huh?»

In front of Kouichi scary face, the boy froze and quickly shook his head in denial.

«Nononono! I don't! Nothing at all.»

Ruka smirked, raising an eyebrow.

«Kou might be big and ugly, but he certainly is useful at times...»

«Who's big and ugly?» Kouichi replied, glaring at him.

Misaki sighed and grabbed both boys' arms, quickly dragging them out of the classroom before things could get worse.

«Let's get out of here. The air is heavy enough in there to choke an elephant to death» she said.

The two of them let her drag them without protesting. Only Ruka turned around briefly, saying goodbye to the people in the class with an ironic gesture of the hand, making all of them freeze in surprise.

Only when they were in a less crowded corridor Misaki finally released the boys' arms. They let her lead them, but actually she had no idea where they were going. She didn't know the areas of the school well.

«Do you know where this corridor leads?» she asked them.

«To the rooftop» Ruka answered with confidence... too much confidence for someone who should have been at lesson until ten minutes before, without having time to explore.

«How do you know?» she asked suspiciously, and he just looked up at the roof with a dreamy face.

«I jumped out of the window when the teacher wasn't looking and went exploring» he answered casually.

Misaki's jaw dropped and she didn't know what to think anymore. Was he joking? Maybe, but certainly he didn't look like he was.

«By the way» she asked suspiciously as they walked toward where, according to Ruka, were supposed to be the stairs to the rooftop, «it wasn't your class Himuro-sensei was talking about, when he said there were 'people' causing problems, right?»

The brothers exchanged glances, and then the both of them smiled. Ruka had his usual seraphic smile, Kouichi's one looked more like a the one of a tiger... but both their smiles were telling her ''guilty as charged''.

«We weren't causing problems: we were just making things a little more lively. Right, Kou?» Ruka said.

«Damn straight! Lessons are boring. And who wants to study on their first day, anyway?»

Misaki's shoulders dropped and she massaged the sides of her head to try and keep her headache at tolerable levels. She was glad she met those two again... but she just got the feeling they were a lot more hard to handle than she thought.

«Guys» she said, trying to sound as reasonable as she could, «you heard those girls from before, right? You know what kind of rumours there are about you. Shouldn't you try to behave, so as to prove them wrong?»

Immediately the smiles disappeared from their faces. Even Ruka wasn't smiling anymore, and the both of them looked kind of... nervous? Worried? It was hard to tell, but they certainly weren't at ease. Looking at them, another shock ran through Misaki's mind, as she looked up at their faces with worry.

«Or... are the rumours true?» she asked, not really sure she wanted to know the answer.

After a while, Ruka broke the silence.

«Don't worry, Misaki-chan. We are not the Bad Guys here, and we don't hang out with Bad Guys either. We don't like them.»

«Yeah» Kouichi added. «We don't like them at all. We only give them quite a beat down if the try and pick on us. Nothing more than that.»

That certainly wasn't a reassuring answer and, if with it they wanted not to make her worry, they failed miserably. How could she be, after Kouichi's ''we give them quite a beat down''. Most of all, what was their conception of ''being picked on''?

Still, weren't friends supposed to trust each other? And, judging by how the situation was at school, if she didn't trust them, who would?

«Okay, then. I believe you. I'm your friend, after all... right?» she said hopefully, betraying her desire to start everything from where they were interrupted, to be friends like they were before.

The two of them immediately relaxed, and Ruka's smile returned in triumph, even more bright then before.

«Of course you are!» he said. «We are not only friends: we are a ''gang'', are we?»

Apparently, this time Misaki wasn't the only one who didn't understand what he was talking about, because Kouichi looked as confused as she was.

«A gang?» they said together, and Ruka nodded.

«Yup! A gang! You see, being the ''Sakurai Brothers'' only is a little lonely. The ''Sakurai Gang'' sounds better!»

Kouichi rolled his eyes.

«My brother is crazy...» he whispered.

Misaki raised an eyebrow ironically.

«It would be great, but there's a little problem: my surname is not ''Sakurai''.»

«Oh, right. Mhmm...». Ruka thought about it for a second, then came up with a solution. «Then you could marry one of us: then your surname would be ''Sakurai'' too. Who do you like the best? Me or Kou?»

«WHAT?»

«HUH?»

Misaki and Kou both stared at him with blank faces, as his grin only grew wider.

«It's for the sake of the gang, guys. The gang comes first than individual affairs: you should know that?»

«ARE YOU CRAZY?» she roared, her face completely red.

«BEAT YOUR HEAD SOMEWHERE OR WHAT?» Kouichi growled, if possible even more red than her.

For the rest of the lunch break, it kept going on that way, with the three of them joking and chatting, getting accustomed to each other once again after all the time they spent apart. Somehow, it really did look like nothing changed between them. Misaki was happy about that: happy about how their relation was quickly rebuilding, happy that they still wanted her as a friend. Still, she couldn't help but notice once more that there was something off; something that showed up in the way they sometimes avoided her questions, in Kouichi's brief and thoughtful silences, in that little, almost invisible sourness that at times ruined Ruka's smile. That something was the wall that separated her from them, but she still had no idea how high that wall was or how she could get through it. Or if she would ever be able to.

_**To be continued...**_

_**The corner of answers!** I'm so happy people are reading and reviewing! Since there are two reviews from unregistered readers, I'm answering here at the end of the chapter! _

_**Darkness01: **I'm glad! Actually, 3rd Story is my favourite too, even if my favourite character is still in the second one! Kou and Ruka come right next anyway, and, according to me, they are the most interesting fanfiction-wise. I love their storyline, and I love the bond they have. Those two are just so cute! Honestly, I had problems choosing the pairing for this story at first because, if I was the heroine and had to choose between one of them... it would be hard! Really hard!_

_**M21: **I'm glad you liked the prologue and I hope the actual first chapter wasn't a disappointment. By the last part, you meant the one of Ruka telling Kou about the heroine? If that's the case, I liked writing that part, because it was completely ''mine'', if you know what I mean. Also, I like switching point of views so that the reader can have a more wide picture of the happenings. In this chapter I didn't manage to do it, or else it would be too long, but I'm planning to do something like that again. _


	3. Heroes and Cuties: the Modern Fairytale

_Yeah, I'm still alive, even if maybe some of you were starting to think otherwise. Unfortunately I'm in the middle of my ''exams spree'' once again (I hate this period of the year!) and I don't have much time to write. Also, in the few free time I have I'm replaying Ruka and Kouichi's routes once again in order to collect as many informations as I can... other than, of course, playing the fully translated version of TMGS2, because there's no way in hell I would let my beloved Saeki alone now that I can understand everything he says! Anyway, I'm working for you, so bear with me, 'kay?  
><em>_So, back to business: I nicknamed this chapter the ''Copy and Paste'' chapter, since, other than a little personal inspiration here and there, it's mostly about events that happens in the game (except for the last part, that's completely mine). I warn you beforehand so that, if you want to skip them, you can. Still, while I don't like copying and pasting, here it was necessary, since I want to introduce all the characters that are going to have a role in the story, and I still think the better way is the original one. After all, I'm not the one who created them, right? Anyway, while I don't particularly like this chapter myself, I hope it won't bore you to death. Next time I'll write more original stuff: promised!_

_**CHAPTER 2**_

_**Heroes and Cuties: The Modern Fairytale**_

As soon as she saw him for the first time... no, even before she met him, she already knew she was going to hate her maths teacher for the simple reason that he taught that subject. She couldn't deny it: she was useless in maths, as well as every scientific subjects. Back in middle school, she could have been top class, if not for her terrible grades in said subjects. And now it was even worse, for the simple reason that the teacher was _him._

«...I can't solve it. I'm sorry» she finally gave up, after the worst ten minutes of her life standing in front of the blackboard, trying to figure out what the solution to the problem was.

Himuro looked carefully at the half-solved problem from behind his glasses, before turning his glance at her.

«This was the subject of our last lesson, Nomura. Is it because you haven't understood my explanation or is it because you haven't studied it at all?»

Misaki looked at him with anger and hatred, her blood boiling in her veins and making her face flush more and more.

«I _studied_. It's just that I...»

''I don't have the basis to solve such hard problems'' she thought, but didn't find the courage to said it out loud.

She had always had problems in maths and she probably would have always had them, no matter how hard she tried. It was also true, though, that her maths lessons in middle school didn't reach that point: she really didn't have the means to solve such complicated tasks yet.

«If you cannot solve it, go back to your place. Morimoto, come and start from where she left.»

Morimoto Megumi, the leader of the girls of the Anti-Nomura Club of her class, stood up with pride, sending an odious look toward Misaki. She and the other girls never forgot how Misaki shut them up on their first day, so whatever humiliated her was okay with them.

«Yes, sensei!» she immediately answered with that annoying, snobbish voice of hers, walking toward the blackboard to finish the problem her ''enemy'' left behind.

With a silent sigh, Misaki walked back to her place and let herself fall on the chair as if someone just shot her down. Taira, from the place beside hers, turned toward her with an understanding glance.

«Are you okay, Nomura-san?» he whispered in such a low voice that she had to read to movements of his lips to understand.

Even if she felt as if she was just run over by a full-loaded truck, Misaki made an effort to smile and nodded. Complaining certainly wouldn't change the facts, and being sad would only make her enemies glad.

For the rest of the lesson, she did nothing but silently take notes, trying to lay low as much as she could, until finally the bell of the lunch break rang, giving a little bit of relief to her tired soul.

She stretched and removed her books from the desk, while Taira and his friends sitting in front of him, Shirazaki Yusuke, turned toward her again.

«Hey, Thug Girl, you okay? Being tortured by Himurocchi in front of the whole class must be really horrible» said the latter, looking kind of concerned.

«Maybe ''tortured'' is a little too much, but... well, it wasn't nice. Still» she added with an evil grin, «I won't be the last one to face Himuro. Now or then, everyone will have to... and I'm just waiting for Morimoto being questioned about something she doesn't know!»

«Yeah, that witch...» Shirazaki glanced at the girl in question and smirked. «Why don't you just ask your friends to give her a lesson she won't forget? It will be easier this way!»

Misaki answered with a sour smile.

«I'll keep that in mind» she said, even if she wasn't really convinced herself.

There were various reasons why she didn't want to do something like that: first thing, it was her problem and Ruka and Kouichi weren't involved; second, that would just worsens their already bad reputation; and the last reason was that she wasn't even sure if they would do something just for the sake of protecting her. Well, maybe if it was something life-threatening, they would... but still, she didn't like the idea of appearing like a damsel in distress who runs to her princes whenever something goes wrong.

«Anyway, let's not think about it anymore» Taira said, noticing Misaki's dark face and deciding it was time to change subjects. «Would you like to have lunch with us today too?»

Shirazaki whistled naughtly.

«Whoa, Taira! You're becoming bolder and bolder! Maybe I should leave you love-birds alone...»

«Yusuke, shut up!» Taira interrupted him, blushing. «Don't listen to him, Nomura-san. He's just an idiot!»

Misaki felt a rush of gratitude raising up to her chest. Since her relationship with most girls in the class was terrible, she was glad that at least some of the boys treated her normally and even decided to let her enter in their group as if it was the most normal thing to do in the world. If it wasn't for them, her first week at school would be the saddest thing ever..

Still, that day she had another plan, so she had no other choice but refusing.

«Sorry, guys, but today I would like to have lunch with Ruka and Kouichi. We haven't almost talked at all lately. Why don't you join us, instead? I think they wouldn't mind.»

The two boys exchanged glances, then Shirazaki quickly shook his head in denial.

«Having lunch with the Sakurai Brothers? I thinks it's still a little too much for my poor heart. Maybe next time.»

«I'll pass, too» Taira refused, too, looking down a little lonesomely. «They are a little too... flashy for me.»

''Flashy?'' she thought, perplexed, but, noticing her questioning look, Taira just shook his head and smiled kindly.

«Another time, maybe.»

«If you say so...» she said, just a little disappointed, but not willing to insist and going against her classmates' will. «See you later, then.»

After saying goodbye, she took her lunchbox and raised from her seat. This time she was sure there was nothing she disliked inside, since she prepared it herself. Of course it didn't look as good as the ones her mother prepared, but it was edible. Ruka in particular seemed to have appreciated her onigiri, considering that last time they ate together her stole half of them away...

Her thoughts were interrupted when, passing beside the desk of the guy with spiky hair she met on the first day, she realized he was looking at her thoughtfully. Strange enough, since he barely ever talked to her. She still didn't even remember his name.

«Need something?» she asked, perplexed.

He didn't stop looking at her, not in the least embarrassed by the fact that she caught him staring.

«Nothing, really» he answered, his eyes still glued on her.

''Weird...'' she thought, but then just shrugged. It's not like he was the weirdest person she met in her whole life, after all.

«Goodbye, then.»

She left him be and quickly stepped out of the classroom, taking a deep breath as soon as she was outside. It wasn't as bad as the first day but, even if a week had passed, the air in there was still pretty heavy. Maybe it was just her impression, but still...

''Come on! Let's go see if Ruka and Kouichi are free'' she thought, chasing the uneasiness away.

She had been a student there for only one week, and she didn't even attend middle school there! It was normal that everything seemed hard! Still, while things were a little though, it wasn't true that everything was going the wrong way. Things would settle, eventually: she was sure of that!

After getting her courage and her smile back, she walked toward Kouichi and Ruka's class and, as if to prove that, when you think about someone, they would appear, Ruka went out of the classroom right in that moment. And he wasn't alone.

«Ruka-kun, would you have lunch with me today?» a girl said.

«Oh, don't listen to her! I did my best to prepare a special lunch especially for you, Ruka-kun. Shall we eat it together?» a second girl interrupted her.

«You two are unfair! I asked him first!» a third girl cried.

Misaki stopped dead on her tracks, watching the scene from afar. It did look like the scene of manga: there he was, the ultimate bishonen of the story surrounded by his fangirls! From her point of view, she could see only Ruka's back and hear only the girls' voices, since they talked very loudly. She had no idea whether he appreciated their attentions or not, but one thing was sure: his new fangirls didn't seem to mind. Whether he liked it or not, they would stick around.

''Looks like I was right, then'' she considered by herself.

Ruka had that something about him that attracted people. Maybe it was also related to his good looks, but it wasn't only that: it was more like an aura. It was hard not to be charmed by him. No wonder that his charms managed to break the barrier of unpopularity fast enough, especially with girls. And even more especially if said girls had a weak spot for bad boys!

Her heart skipped a beat and her stomach growled in disappointment, giving her a very unpleasant sensation as she turned around and walked away. She felt that not getting close was the right thing to do: Ruka was perfectly able to deal with his fangirls on his own, and she didn't want to expose herself to the glares of his Fan Club. Still, she couldn't help but feel a little jealous: she didn't realize it up to that moment, but maybe she was starting to consider both Ruka and Kouichi as ''her own private property'', and finding out that, after all, they didn't belong to her...

''So that's what it feels like when a sibling find a lover, or something'' she thought with a sour grin, as she walked away toward the courtyard. ''Maybe I should just leave those two alone for today. It's a shame, though: we barely spoke this week. I really wanted to have a chat...''

Oh, well, looked like she had no choice but spend the lunch break on her own. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing: after Himuro's torture at the blackboard, she still had a slight headache. Sitting back and relax would surely help.

When Misaki reached the courtyard, though, she realized much to her disappointment that that day a lot of other students had her same idea and decided to spend the break there. There was not even a corner where she could be on her own and relax. She looked around for a while, looking for a quiet place to spend her break, but in vain. She was starting to consider going back to inspect the rooftop, but right then she heard some voices coming from behind the main building. Male voices, and quite threatening ones.

«So don't think that, just because you brothers arrived, you'll have the monopoly in here, got it?»

''Brothers?''

Lately, she happened to jump every time she heard that word. Again, she knew _they_ weren't the only brothers in Habataki High, yet it was as if they were _the _brothers around there. If someone said that word, it was damn sure they were talking about them; and, when she heard a familiar voice answering, she had the confirmation she needed.

«So what?»

''Kouichi?''

For the second time in a few minutes her heart skipped a beat and her stomach growled, but this time the feeling was much more unpleasant. She didn't like the tone of that conversation at all.

Without thinking, she headed in the direction from where she heard the voices until, as expected, she found herself in front of the tall, dark figure of Kouichi, face-to-face with two other guys. Judging by the two strangers appearance, they must have been third year students and they were both kind of well built. Still, compared to Kouichi, they didn't look all that impressive. He was taller and far more scarier than them.

«I'm not saying we want to pick a fight with you» one of the upperclassmen said, trying to act both diplomatic and threatening, «but you arrived here last, so...»

«So what?» Kouichi repeated with an annoyed voice, as if he was waiting for the other guys to get to the point.

«Since you arrived here last» the other upperclassman said with a far more aggressive tone compared to the other, «you have to pay respect to us. Understood?»

Spying from behind the corner, Misaki couldn't see Kouichi's face well, but she could have sworn that a little grin appeared on his lip. Then, suddenly, he jumped onward and grabbed the one who just talked for the front of his uniform.

«And if we don't, what will you do? Huh?» he hissed piercing the upperclassman's eyes with his own sharp and scary pupil.

The guy freaked out and Misaki together with him, so much that she jumped out her hiding spot and, always without thinking, rushed toward the three guys.

''What the heck is that idiot _thinking?_'' she thought, furious.

«Kouichi!» she called his name out loud.

He didn't release the guy, but quickly glanced at her from over his shoulder.

«...What are you doing here?» he said in an annoyed tone, like a kid who's been deprived of his favourite toy.

«That's my line. Let him go! Right now!»

For a few long seconds, Kouichi considered Misaki's angry face, then the scared guy he was holding. In the end, he sighed and approached his face to the upperclassman's, as if he wanted to be sure he was hearing him well.

«Leave us alone, and we'll do the same. Got it?»

Both the other guys nodded quickly, and finally Kouichi let go of the one he was holding. After giving him a couple of freaked out glances, the two of them quickly ran away, passing by Misaki's side as if they didn't even see her.

As soon as they were out of sight, she approached him, still staring at him furiously.

«Are you completely _crazy?_» she yelled, her heart still pounding faster because of the scare she had. «Have you any slight idea what could the consequences be, if you pick a fight here at school? And with two upperclassmen, no less! Do you want to be suspended? Or even worse...»

«Hey, chill down a little, Nomura!» he interrupted her, rolling his eyes. « First thing, we weren't fighting, and second they were the ones who started.»

«I figured that much, and I assure you I don't like it either» Misaki answered, massaging the side of her head to avoid an explosion. She was starting to think that ''Sakurai Brothers'' and ''headache'' were synonymous. «Still, you can't just threaten them as you please. You could end up in serious troubles, you know?»

Kouichi shrugged.

«As if it was the first time!»

Misaki glared at him and gritted her teeth.

«You make me want to punch you in the face, when you say that» she hissed, and he answered with one of his werewolf smiles.

«Wanna try?»

She refused.

«...I get the feeling I would be the one getting hurt, if I did. By the way, what were you doing here, before those two came?»

Kouichi shrugged again and pointed toward the rear of the building.

«I wanted to lay low for... ya know, various reasons, so I decided to take a look at the church, but those two idiots popped out of nowhere and stopped me.»

«The church?»

Misaki gave him a questioning look and, when he realized she really didn't understood, it was his turn to be puzzled.

«Hey, you know it well: the church where we used to play when we were little! You've been there not more than a week ago!»

Misaki's jaw dropped and she stared at Kouichi in disbelief.

«Wait a second: you mean the church is in _this school_ ground?»

He nodded.

«Yeah. There are a bunch of threes around so you can't see it if you don't go near it, but it's definitely there.»

«So, when I got lost a week ago... I got lost _in my own school ground?_»

«So it seems» Kouichi nodded again, choking a laughter.

_**GA-N!**_

A sudden silence fell between them. At first, she just stood there, looking blankly at an empty spot , then she turned green and started looking around frantically.

«Hey, what are you looking for?» he asked, even more confused.

«I'm looking for a dark corner. I need a place where to get depressed.»

«Huh?»

«That's just _stupid!_ And embarrassing, too! How could I get lost near my own school? And I came to visit it before, too! I'm an idiot! _Idiot_! _IDIOT_! What a poor figure I did!»

Seeing how desperate she looked, Kouichi couldn't hold his laughter anymore.

«Yeah, that's absolutely stupid! I mean, not only it was your own school, but we used to come here quite often when we were little. Don't you remember?»

«HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW? We never came from the gates: we always came from the trees... Ah, then I should have remembered when I came a week ago! How could I forget such a thing? I always make fun of my cousin Nami for forgetting about her own boyfriend, and now I find out I'm worse than her! The forgetfulness must be in our family DNA!» she cried, while Kouichi smirked naughty, as if he was enjoying every second of the scene.

«Oh, well, I'm not surprised. You were forgetful even back then. Ruka was right: you haven't changed at all! Always the usual brat from before.»

Hearing Ruka's name, a dangerous look flashed through Misaki's eyes as she realized something.

«That's why he has been having that amused look for the whole week!» she said, her voice shaking dangerously. «_He knew from the very beginning, and didn't tell me anything! _He was making fun of me all along!»

«Knowing Ruka, it's very likely» Kouichi agreed without any hesitation.

From green, Misaki's face became blue and the veins of her forehead started pulsing.

«Before the lunch break ends, someone is going to _die_!»

Without another word, she turned around and started walking toward the front courtyard like a warrior ready for a massacre.

«Hey, Nomura! Where are you going?» Kouichi called her back, smelling troubles from miles away.

«To kill your brother! Before the day ends, you'll be an only child, Kouichi!» she answered without turning around, shaking her still untouched lunchbox as if it was a sword and soon disappearing behind the corner.

When she reappeared in courtyard, the lunch break was almost over and people were quickly returning inside, heading toward their classrooms. Still, Misaki barely noticed them at all, her mind focused only on finding Ruka and messing up that pretty face of his! Now she kind of understood what Kouichi meant when he said his brother was annoying! You had to be his target once to be able to understand!

«Excuse me... Sorry, I'm in a hurry; I've got to murder someone!» she said to everyone who happened to stand in her way, leaving behind a bunch of confused faces and whispers.

She was already beside the doors, when suddenly she heard someone, undoubtedly a girl, scream and, soon after, another girl yell even louder:

«Someone stop him!»

The voices were coming from upside.

Surprised, Misaki raised her head to see what was going on. At first, the only things she saw were some girls looking from a window at the second floor with pale and scared faces... then, from the window right above her head, she heard a familiar voice calling out to the people down there.

«Careful, down there!»

And then, in a matter of seconds, a blond haired shadow jumped out of the window.

The girls at the window screamed, some other people in the courtyard did the same, and Misaki held her breath and jumped backward, thanking inwardly her quick reflexes when the figure landed in front of her, exactly in the same place she was standing less than a second before. Then, with a gracious movement, the figure straightened up, his face only a few inches away from hers. Two beautiful brown pupils, that looked almost green under the light of the sun, stared at her with the sly curiosity she knew well... too well.

«Hey there, Misaki-chan. What brings you here?»

«R-r-r-ruka? Are you all right?» she stammered, her voice still shaking because of the scare. «I was dreaming, right? You _haven't_ just jumped from the second floor, have you?»

Ruka's big eyes opened wide, making him look like a very cute and naughty kitten.

«No, I'm positive I did it for real. Unless we are both dreaming... and that would be an interesting possibility.»

Misaki, who up to then felt as if someone stole all her blood away, now felt it returning all together, and her pale face became bright red for anger and worry.

«Are you completely _crazy? _Y-y-you... You could have died right here, in front of me! What if you got hurt? What if...»

He interrupted her with a gesture of the hand, as if to erase everything she was saying.

«It's fine. Because I'm an immortal hero.»

«Immortal... hero?» she slowly repeated his words, and he nodded like a teacher with the student who just gave him the right answer. Then he tried to take a step forward but, right then, his left leg shook a little and he staggered. Instinctively, Misaki held out her hand to grab him, but he regained his balance before she could reach him.

«I think I landed on the wrong foot, though» he considered with a crooked grin. «I should practice more on the landing.»

«Practice? You mean, by jumping again from the second floor?» she asked, stunned, not really sure if she had to get angry or admire that particular ability of his.

He shrugged.

«So what? Once I jumped from the third». Then, when she noticed that Misaki was growing pale again, he quickly added: «Well, there were bushes under the window, that's why.»

«Bushes or not, you did jump from the third floor all the same...» she muttered, her voice still shaking. «Why the heck...?»

He looked up toward the window where the girls were still watching at them in surprise and raised an eyebrow in an expression that was both amused and annoyed.

«You see, looks like I'm suddenly becoming popular. Until a couple of days ago, they ran away as soon as they saw me, and now they would follow me even in the bathroom. It was funny at first, since I got to steal their lunches, but lately it's getting kind of annoying. So...». He opened his arms and gave her a wise and mysterious smile. «I've been forced to use my heroic powers to run away from them.»

«Heroic powers...» Misaki repeated again. She realized she started to look like a parrot, but she couldn't help it. What he was saying was so crazy that she couldn't even find a proper reply.

He nodded.

«Because I'm a hero. I already told you.»

Were heroes made ''heroes'' based on their madness and recklessness? In that case, Ruka was indeed one and his dear elder brother was on the right path to become one!

«Is Kouichi an hero too, then?» she asked sarcastically, but Ruka just answered with one of his sweetest gaze, looking cutely surprised.

«Kou? Of course not! He's just my sidekick! Every hero has one. Do you want to be one, too? There's still one place available.»

«...Does being your sidekick implies jumping from the second floor like you do?» she asked cautiously.

«Probably.»

«And do all the reckless and stupid things you do?»

«Most likely.»

«...Then I think I'll pass.»

Ruka shook his head and shrugged.

«Oh, well. As you please. If you change your mind...»

He never got to finish the sentence, because right then they heard the voices of some girls not far from where they were.

«Hey, isn't that Ruka-kun?»

«Yes, that's definitely him! Let's go _greet _him!»

Ruka jumped and turned toward Misaki with a tense smile.

«Looks like I'm wanted, so... See ya!»

After quickly waving at her, he dashed away really fast, considering that he was still staggering because of the hurt leg. As she watched his figure getting smaller and smaller, she couldn't hold a sigh. Why of all the unmanageable childhood friends in the world, she got the most unmanageable ones?

Well, that was probably part of their charm. True. Take Ruka, for example: he landed in front of her from the window almost without a scratch exactly like a ninja in disguise, came out with that cute smile of his and that weird story of the ''immortal hero''... and there she forgot about the fact that she wanted to _kill him_.

''Aaah! Why me?'' she thought to herself, half sighing and half smiling, and turned around to get back in the building... but she was once again interrupted by a roaring voice calling a name that (unfortunately) she knew very well.

«SAKURAI! DON'T RUN! COME BACK HERE!»

Himuro appeared like a ghost on the entrance, walking as fast as he could. Once outside, he took a quick look around from behind his glasses and, when he spotted Misaki near the door, approached her with two quick footsteps.

«Perfect timing, Nomura! Right the person I was looking for!»

«Me, sensei?» she asked, trying not to sound too sour, despite being still kind of angry for what happened during the lesson.

«Yes, you. Have you seen Sakurai around here?»

«...Which one?»

Himuro thought about it for a second, narrowing his already sharp eyes, and then answered:

«Actually, I was looking for the both of them, but right now my target would be Sakurai Ruka. He ran away from me when I saw him trying to ran away from the classroom, a few minutes ago. He is probably trying to avoid the lesson... again.»

«He passed by a minute ago. If you've been following him for some minutes, sensei, you should have see him, too.»

Himuro cleared his throat and his expression became, if possible, even more strict.

«That would be it, _if _I _ran_ after him. But since it would not be proper for a teacher to violate the rules of his own school and run in the corridors... Anyway, tell where did he run to!»

So he didn't _run _after Ruka for some minutes; he _walked _after him! And, considering that Ruka was pretty fast even with his leg injured, Himuro would _never _get him that way.

Misaki felt like all of her ribs broke while trying not to laugh in his face.

«Over there» she answered, pointing at the opposite direction from the one Ruka ran toward. Nobody could take her away the pleasure of killing Ruka herself; not even Himuro. Especially not Himuro!

He nodded, pleased.

«Good, then I'm...»

He didn't finish the sentence, because another voice caught their attention.

«KOUICHI! WHERE DID YOU DISAPPEAR TO?»

Right then, the small figure of Osako-sensei appeared in the courtyard exactly from where Himuro appeared a minute before, running wildly and shaking a fist like a madman. When he spotted Misaki and Himuro, he approached quickly, breathing hard.

«Nomura! Here you are! Exactly the one I wanted to meet... ah, and you are here too, Himuro-sensei!»

«Osako-sensei, how many times do I have to tell you not to run around this way» Himuro scolded him. «What kind of example will you give to the students, if you behave this way?»

He panted and tried to straighten up, but in vain. He was completely covered in sweat.

«I'm sorry, sensei, but I was running after Sakurai Kouichi and you know that, with that long legs of his, I would never be able to keep the pace if I didn't run. Anyway, he disappeared while I was running after him, and I think he's hiding somewhere around here. Have you by any chance seen him, Nomura?»

«No, I didn't. I'm sorry, sensei» Misaki answered as innocently as she could, while the little devil on her left shoulder smirked naughtily. She didn't agreed with Ruka and Kouichi's habit of making troubles and avoiding lessons here and there, but one thing was sure: she didn't want to miss the scene of Himuro and Osako-sensei running -or _walking- _around in their desperate search of the two brothers.

The younger -and shorter- teacher sighed in a depressed way.

«Then I can't help it, I guess. I'll have to keep searching.»

«Actually, I was looking for the Sakurai Brothers myself, Osako-sensei. We can split and look for them together» Himuro said, looking just a little bit relieved himself. «I am going toward the gym, you keep looking around the courtyard.»

Osako-sensei smiled brightly, looking even more childish than usual.

«Yes, sensei! I'm with you all the way!»

With a warlike expression on his face, he did as Himuro said, walking as fast as he could and screaming with all the breath he had:

«KOUICHI! IT'S USELESS TO HIDE! I'M GOING TO FIND YOU!»

''If he keeps screaming like that, he'll never find him. Kouichi will hear him from miles away'' she thought.

Himuro gave her a resigned gaze and sighed, as if he had just read her thoughts and perfectly agreed with them.

«Anyway, Nomura, you go back to your class. The lunch break is almost over.»

«I will» Misaki answered, and the teacher finally joined the colleague in his search, in a more silent, but still kind of useless way.

She amused herself watching them for a while, until it was really time for her to go back to class. In the end, she couldn't even have a rest, meaning that she'd have to deal with an even worse headache than before. Maybe, if she managed to take a nap during the lesson... But how could she do it without getting caught?

She was so lost in her plans that, when a girl suddenly appeared in front of her, she didn't manage to stop fast enough and the two of them bumped against each other.

«Wah!»

«Ouch!»

Despite they knocked against each other pretty hard, none of them fell on the ground. For a long second, Misaki's vision blurred and she felt as if a million little planets were dancing in front of her eyes. Then, when she finally got back to her senses, she saw the girl she almost knocked out in front of her, massaging her head. It was a tall, pretty girl with very short dark brown hair she was sure she never saw before.

«I'm sorry! I wasn't looking at where I was going!» she quickly apologized, perfectly knowing it was her fault for walking around without watching were she was going.

«It's fine, don't worry! I'm...» the girl answered, smiling kindly... before she suddenly interrupted, looking at her face in amazement.

Misaki sighed, annoyed. Always that reaction: why did people have to get always so scared around her for no reason other than...

«Oh, wow!» the girl suddenly exclaimed, still staring at her face with unusually bright eyes.

«...eh? What...»

Already surprised by that unusual reply, Misaki became completely stunned when suddenly she grabbed her hand and shook it, smiling from ear to ear like a child at Christmas.

«Don't mind me, I just realized something. By the way, I'm Hanatsubaki Karen of 1-B! Pleasure to meet you!»

«Nice to meet you too. I'm Nomura Misaki of 1-A. By the way, by ''Hanatsubaki'' you mean...?»

There was only another person she knew of with the same surname, and that was a famous stylist named Hanatsubaki Goro. He also had a web page...

«Yes, he's my uncle» the girl answered. «You like fashion?»

Misaki shrugged, not really sure how to answer. She did like fashion in a way, but Goro's style was a little... eccentric, maybe? Last time she checked, he wrote that wearing gloves in summer was ''in''!

«Well, kind of... maybe we can talk about fashion some other time. And now, I should go to...»

She tried to sneak away, but the girl called Karen didn't let her, jumping in front of her and blocking her way.

«Oh, so you're the shy type too!»

Shy type, her? And what with that ''too''?

«Anyway, no need to be shy around me! I'm not trying to hit on you, you know? Not _yet,_ at least!»

And, after saying this, she showed her a mysterious and charming smile, that, for some reason, reminded her of Ruka.

«That's not what I was thinking» Misaki finally answered with a sigh. «I just didn't want to tell you that I find Goro's fashion rather... er... eccentric. I thought you might get offended.»

«Eccentric...»

Karen repeated the word as if it hid some magic meaning behind it, and then her smile reappeared, even wider than before.

«Yes, that's it! I _knew _you had a nice taste! I mean, just look at how cute you are! It couldn't be otherwise?»

«...Huh?»

She nodded enthusiastically.

«You said exactly what I would expect from someone with a good sense: fashion is eccentric. It must be, or else it wouldn't be anymore! It's all about originality, creativity and charisma: that's the essence of it all!»

Misaki let her talk, staring at her with her eyes opened wide in disbelief.

«Actually, I didn't really mean it that way. I just meant that sometime I don't really understand how he decides what's in and what's out. That's it» she tried to explain, but Karen, not in the least bothered, grinned again and tapped her shoulder confidentially, as if she had been knowing her for a long time.

«Well, it's normal: you are a beginner, after all. That's why I'm here!». She pointed at herself with air of importance, before making a charming thoughtful expression. «So, how about we set your first lesson in fashion for... let's say... after school! We can walk home together for a while, while I fill you in on the basic stuff. What do you say?»

Was she inviting her? Misaki blinked in surprise but then, as she looked at Karen hopeful face and her puppy eyes, she couldn't help but laughing. She looked like a strange girl indeed... but she was also the first _nice _girl she met in that school, and realizing that not all the people there were stuck up snobs was indeed a relief.

«Fine with me» she accepted, feeling a little more cheerful. «So, uh... where should we meet, Hanatsubaki-san?»

«Yay! I was sure you would say so!» Karen said, looking even more enthusiastic than before. «Then, we'll meet near the lockers, okay? And, by the way, Karen is fine. Formalities aren't my cup of tea, especially with friends.»

Friends? She already decided that they were going to be friend? Well, it didn't sound like a bad idea.

«I see... Karen. I'll meet you there when lessons are over, then.»

She agreed with a nod but, before Misaki could say goodbye, she stopped her again as if she suddenly remembered something really important.

«One more thing: can I call you ''Bambi''?»

Misaki froze and her jaw dropped. She took a while to realize that she was talking seriously and, even when she did, she still couldn't believe it.

Bambi? Her?

«Er... I don't mind, I guess?» she answered, without sounding very convinced herself. «But why?»

«Because it sooo suits you» Karen answered, her eyes twinkling like little stars. «You're so small and cute, with those big brown eyes! And the colour of you hair looks like the fur of a deer, too! Bambi is the perfect nickname for you!»

«Bambi...» she repeated, feeling again exactly like a parrot.

People said a lot of things about her, but no one _ever_ said that she looked like a deer. NEVER.

Taking her perplexed silence as an agreement, Karen smiled from ear to ear.

«It's decided, then! From now on, you'll be Bambi!»

...After all, it was embarrassing. As much as she didn't want to, when she called her new nickname, she couldn't help but look around to see if someone was listening. Thankfully, no one was passing by. Probably everyone was already in their classrooms...

As if to confirm her words, the bell started ringing, announcing that the lunch break was officially over.

«Oops! I think we have to go back in class, don't we?» Karen said, a little disappointed. «Well, see you soon, Bambi! Don't try and go home without me!»

«See you... Karen» she answered, blushing again because of that weird nickname, while Karen waved at her and dashed toward her class, looking as bright and energetic as if something very nice just happened to her.

When she disappeared from her sight, Misaki got on her way too, still spacing out a little.

Was it just her, or she just gained her first girlfriend?

…

…

…

In the afternoon, at the end of the lessons, Misaki went, as agreed, to meet Karen near the lockers. She hadn't arrived yet, so she stood there, waiting for her.

After all, waiting for a girlfriend was nice! Since girls usually didn't like her, she was forced to always hang out with boys. Not that she disliked boys, of course. She liked them more than most girls. Still a girl is a girl, and women always stick together somehow. She knew Karen only a few hours before, but she really hoped they could be friends in the end. She was an interesting girl, and it would be nice to hang out with her.

While she was considering those things, she spaced out a little and, when someone tapped her shoulder, she gasped, startled.

«Waah!»

She quickly turned around, kind of expecting to see a ghost or something... but she found herself in front of a little girl.

...Well, maybe she wasn't such a little girl, since she wore her same uniform, but she surely looked like one: she was shorter than her, with shoulder-length brown hair with the fringe and she had a cute, round face that made her look like a child. Still, her expression was too serious to be the one of a kid. And she was looking at her.

«Er... Yes?» Misaki asked. «You needed something with me?»

The girl said yes with a nod.

«Tell me your name» she said with a thin, almost ethereal and a little absent-minded voice.

«My name?»

Misaki frowned, suspicious. What was with that girl, so suddenly? She appeared out of nowhere, talked to her just like that without knowing who she was and asked her name all of a sudden...

Well, as long as it was only her name...

«Nomura Misaki. But why...?»

She didn't finish, because, as soon as she heard her name, the girl closed her eyes as if she was deep in thoughts. When she finally opened her again, she looked straight at her face and started listing:

«Nomura Misaki, fifteen years old, born on the 13th of September, star sign Virgo, blood type B. Is it correct?»

«EH? HOW DO YOU KNOW?» Misaki gasped, staring at the girl with a mixture of confusion and suspicion.

Her surprised reaction, thought, didn't bother the girl, who seemed to have expected it from the very beginning.

«I knew you would ask that. And, by the way, I'm no stalker.»

Misaki gasped again, because that was exactly what she meant to ask a second before. How else she could explain how she knew her birthday, star sign and even the blood type, if she hadn't met her before not even once.

«Then what? How did you find out?»

The mysterious girl sighed, as if she was preparing for something; then, still looking at her straight as if she was saying the most normal thing in the world, she explained.

«The stars told me.»

«HUH?»

For a moment, Misaki just looked blankly at the girl, who looked absolutely sure of what she was saying, then let out a nervous laugh.

«I got it. You're joking.»

«...You don't believe in what the stars say, do you?» she asked slowly, but she looked already aware of the answer.

Apparently, Misaki didn't disappoint her.

«No, I don't. I don't believe in horoscopes and stuff. It's just something they use to fill the pages of the magazines, or to cheat people who believes it.»

Once again, the girl didn't look surprised. Still, her still expression seemed to soften a little.

«I must give you a point on this one; but not everything is a lie. What the stars tell me isn't a lie.»

Misaki braced herself, feeling interested in spite of her own sense.

«Then prove it» she finally said, deciding to give her a chance. «Tell me something only I know. For example... what's the name of the mother of the cat of my cousin?»

The mysterious girl sighed as if she found that little game extremely stupid, then she closed her eyes for a second and, when she opened them again, she answered without hesitation.

«Her name is Miki and she's called like you elder cousin. Her boyfriend called her that. Also, the name of the kitten you mentioned is Nyaa.»

«Wow!» Misaki whispered in shock, impressed and not really sure if admire that girl's ability or think she was scary.

«Do you believe in the stars now?» the girl asked, and she nodded faintly.

«I'm not really sure yet, but... I guess I'll give them a chance.»

Apparently pleased, the girl finally smiled.

«I thought you would say that... and, yes, the stars sometimes tell me what will be the subjects of tests. But I'm not going to tell you: that would be cheating.»

Misaki gasped for the third time in 10 minutes, surprised that she once again answered her question before she could even ask it.

«But you are cheating too!» she replied after getting over the shock.

The girl didn't answer, simply smiling her mysterious smile, and before Misaki could say further, a cheerful voice interrupted the bizarre conversation.

«Bambi! Sorry for the delay!»

They both turned around in time to see Karen walk toward them at a quick pace. When she arrived close enough to notice the girl beside Misaki, her smile grew even brighter.

«Oh, Miyo-chan is here too!»

In a second, the faint smile on her face disappeared and she glared at Karen as if she meant to kill her with her gaze.

«Karen, I already told you not to say ''chan''!»

Karen didn't seem to notice her killer gaze, though, and not only approached her, but also patted her head like she would do with a child.

«Bambi, she's Ugajin Miyo. Don't mind her if she looks a little rough around the edges sometimes: she's little shy, but a nice kid all in all.»

«Don't call me ''kid''!»

Miyo's cheeks turned pink because of rage and she glared at Karen even harder. She was puffing her cheeks so much that it looked like she was going to explode soon. That way, she really did look somewhat like a kid.

«Karen, maybe you shouldn't make her angry, or the stars could announce your death soon enough...» Misaki warned her, half amused and half scared... which became ''completely scared'' when Miyo's pout turned into a frightening grin.

«I can't control what the star say... but they could still hear my prayers.»

Both Misaki and Karen froze and for a few seconds an awkward silence fell between them, before Karen started laughing nervously.

«I was just joking, Miyo. J-O-K-I-N-G! No harm done, right?»

Miyo's lethal grin flashed once again toward Karen, before she turned once again toward Misaki.

«Anyway, if you'll change your mind about the stars, you can ask me. Got it... Bambi?»

Misaki sighed, blushing slightly and quickly checking around if someone heard her calling her brand new nickname.

«So you'll start calling me that too?»

«Of course she will!» Karen intervened before she could even answer. «I already told you: it suits you! Right, Miyo? Isn't she cute _exactly _like Bambi? If you knew her before I did, wouldn't you call her that too?»

«I would, because the stars already told me you were going to call her that anyway» she answered calmly.

«...You are saying it as if it was fate...» Misaki muttered with a crooked smile, too shocked to even feel embarrassed.

The other two girls exchanged glances, then answered together:

«IT WAS!»

Why did she have the impression that, whatever she said, they weren't going to stop calling her that? So, since the battle was already lost anyway... At least ''Bambi'' was a somewhat cute nickname, better than whatever people called her up to that moment.

«Okay, then. If it was Fate, it was Fate. Can't change that. So...erm... what are we going to do now?»

At her words, Karen's cheerful face turned into a charming, almost manly smile.

«Isn't it obvious, my beloved Bambi?» she said in the same tone from before, the one that kind of reminded her of Ruka. «Can't you guess it?»

Misaki raised an eyebrow, then turned toward Miyo.

«Miyo, could you ask the stars what's passing through Karen's mind?»

«They already told me. She's going to... Mgh!»

She couldn't finish the sentence, because Karen jumped toward her and closed her mouth with the hand!

«Bambi, that's called cheating!»

«The easiest way is always the best one» Misaki answered ironically, with her usual crooked grin.

Karen snorted and let Miyo go, probably a little disappointed that her act got spoiled, but her pout soon disappeared, replaced by her brightest smile.

«What I was going to say is: now that the introductions are done, our own newborn group, the ''Cutie 3'' is going to go and grab a bite together! And I don't accept ''no'' as an answer!»

The other two didn't answer her enthusiasm, though, and just stared at her blankly. For once, even Miyo looked surprised.

«''Cutie''?» Misaki whispered in shock.

«''3''?» Miyo repeated, almost as shocked as she was.

Karen grinned and grabber their wrists, pulling them toward the exit.

«The name isn't changeable!» she announced cheerfully. «This is the most suitable names for the Karen-Bambi-Miyo trio! Rejoice, my loyal followers! This is just the beginning of our sisterhood! Soon the Cutie 3 will take over the school! And now, let's go, cute ones! We have yet to taste the Tea of Friendship!»

«Fine then» Miyo gave up, and then whispered at Misaki. «Feel free to order whatever you want: the stars just told me that Karen will pay for everything!»

The both of them exchanged glances and laughed naughtily, letting Karen lead them.

Following her new friends, Misaki still wasn't sure if she wouldn't ever meet someone normal in that school: both Miyo and Karen didn't look ''normal'' at all! Maybe it was fate for her not to be able to get along with the so called ''normal people''. But, there she was, together with two girls that, despite being a little eccentric, were some of the few nice enough to talk to her normally! Also, for a second, the images of Kouichi sneaking behind the buildings and Ruka jumping through the window crossed her mind, and she couldn't help but smile. All those people around her were completely weird, eccentric, crazy... but she wouldn't change anyone of them for all the ''normal people'' in the world!

Who knows? Maybe she was a little weird too!

…

…

…

While Misaki was walking out of the school gates together with Karen and Miyo, two silent shadows watched over her from the other side of the street, unseen.

Two boys. One blond and the other black-haired. Two boys wearing the same school uniform, somewhat in contrast with the black motorbike beside them.

«Looks like there was no need to worry, Kou. She's managing.»

Ruka tapped his finger on his brother's shoulder to catch his attention, pointing at the three girls walking out of the gates. The other shrugged, as if he didn't care.

«Don't say it as if it was my idea. _You _said we had to follow her.»

«You accepted, though» Ruka replied with a little grin.

Kouichi shrugged again.

«Only because you'd annoy me all day long about it, if I said no.»

«Possibly.»

Ruka didn't say any more than that, but gave him one of his quick, sly glances, before turning toward the girls once again. A glance worth more than a million words.

Kouichi sighed as silently as he could and looked toward them himself. Actually, he couldn't say he wasn't worried when Ruka told him what those crazy witches of their friend's class were talking about her in less then nice terms. Especially what they were planning to do to her once the lessons were over. Ruka himself was as pale as a sheet when he told him. That's why they decided to wait for her, just in case.

But she was alright. She wasn't alone, so that's probably why those witches gave up. For the moment, at least. Still...

Well, he would never, never, _never_ admit it, but he would go crazy if something happened to that girl; especially if something happened because of them. And he was sure Ruka thought the same thing, at least judging by his complex and serious expression while he was looking at her from afar.

Ruka never looked serious, not even in the worst situations: there was something about his expression that always made him look as if he was smiling. So, when he was _really _serious, it looked kind of strange... and somewhat scary.

«Say, Kou...» he suddenly said, frowning slightly as he looked at Misaki's back becoming smaller and smaller at the bottom of the street. «Do you think we did the right thing?»

Kouichi raised his thin eyebrow, puzzled.

«About what?»

«About storming into her life once again, just like that.»

There, he said it! He said exactly what he thought he would say.

«What the heck are you saying? It was your idea!»

«I know, I know. But what happened today is all because she's our friend; and, unlike us, she's far more defenceless.»

That was right indeed. From were their were, they couldn't see her anymore, but Kouichi could perfectly picture her: she wasn't tall, she wasn't strong and she looked like she wasn't able to really defend herself if someone attacked her. Not even if the attackers were girls. And all of this because she was their friend.

«Well, we can't go back now, can we?» he finally answered after thinking about it for a while.

«...Yeah.»

After that half-hearted answer, Ruka fell silent again, that complex expression still on his face. Kouichi wondered what he was thinking: they had been together from as far as he could remember, but at times he really had problems understanding what was passing through his own brother's mind. And what was worse was that Ruka probably did know that, and seemed to like it that way. If people knew better, they'd probably change their mind about was was the scary one between them.

Then, suddenly, the serious expression disappeared, replace by his usual, eternal grin.

«Then I'll have to protect her. After all, defeating the evil guys to save the damsel in distress is a hero's duty!»

Hero, yeah...

Kouichi grinned, amused by the sparkle that had appeared in Ruka's eyes.

«Do as you please, but don't call me in.»

His brother's eyes narrowed and his smile became, if possible, even wider.

«''Don't call me in''? Kou, maybe you forgot a teensy, tiny, little detail: you're my sidekick, so I can call you in whenever I want. Following the hero is the purpose of a sidekick's life!»

Kouichi's grin disappeared in less than a second, replaced by his usual, scary frown that made a lot of people run away, but had no effect whatsoever over Ruka.

«Why do I have to be the sidekick here?»

«Because the strongest one has to be the hero, and the weakest has to be the sidekick. Isn't it obvious? So, since I'm stronger than you...» he explained patiently, only to be interrupted by Kouichi's low growl.

«Hey! Who said that? It's the most stupid thing I've ever...»

«And, since I'm the strongest here...» Ruka interrupted him. «...I'll drive!»

«HEY!»

Before he could say anything, Ruka had already dashed away, jumping on the motorbike like an athlete.

«You idiot! You don't have the...!» Kouichi started, grinning, but his smile disappeared when he heard the roar of the engine and, touching his pocket, realized that the keys weren't there anymore.

...Ah, that idiot, naughty _BRAT!_

«RUKA! I'LL KILL YOU!»

«First you'll have to walk _all the way_ home, though, if you don't get a move on!» he laughed.

With a growl even louder than the engine of the motorbike, Kouichi ran toward it and managed to jump on it right as it started moving, landing heavily behind Ruka.

He didn't know yet, but he was already _dead!_ He just had to wait 'til they got home. Once there, he'd pay for that. He definitely would!

...Maybe.

_**TO BE CONTINUED...**_

_**The corner of answers:** As usual, the answers for unregistered users are here!_

_**Darkness01:** Ahahah! I'll keep your advice in mind! Certainly Kou seems to have quite a bit of fans... Well, no wonders. I love him too. The problem is that I love Ruka too! As for the ogre joke, if you think about it, you'll see that he really does have kind of a Shrekish attitude at times! Anyway, I'll keep adding the other guys (or character in general) to the story because some of them have certain roles in some of the events I'm going to write about. Even important roles. After all, I want to make this story as similar as possible as a ''book'' of sort, with interrelated chapters and a real storyline, especially compared to my first one. Anyway, thanks for reading! _


	4. Incidents

_Yeah, I'm alive and well, even if it's really been a while. Really, I hate the summer session of exams: so long, tiring and boring. But I finished for now, so I'm finally free to keep writing this story, since YES, I want to go on with it. Hopefully I'll have more time right now!_

_Now, to get to serious issues: this chapter was supposed to be a lot longer, but I wanted to publish it as soon as possible, so I found a way to split it. I suppose people who are still hoping to read the rest of the story will be more pleased to see a shorter update NOW, with the hope of getting the next one in not more than a week, than waiting for even longer than they already did. Also, I tried to keep this chapter as mild as possible so as not to be forced to change the rating of the whole story, and I think I managed to make it less scary compared to how I pictured it in the first place (a LOT worse, believe me!). You've probably understood by now that I'm more suited to write angst than fluff, unfortunately. In any case, I don't think it might actually bother someone, but if it does I'll try to be more careful from now on._

_**CHAPTER 3**_

_**Incidents**_

«Ruka, can I ask you something?»

There was still time until the beginning of the lesson. For once, they weren't right on time, or worse, terribly late: it was nice for a change.

Despite she was now kind of used to her new ''high-schooler schedule'', Misaki was far from getting rid of her own bad habits, _especially_ the one of wanting to sleep ''just five minutes longer'' every morning. No matter if she knew perfectly that the ''five minutes'' always became at least forty-five. Let's mix her tendency of oversleeping AND two childhood friends that suddenly became overprotective for some unknown reason and their own tendency of oversleeping... and you can figure out the results. There was no way for her to get rid of those two, though: when they started showing up every morning right in front of her house, insisting that they _had _to go to school together, she tried to ask why. But they didn't answer. Or better, they _did_: Kouichi said that, if she didn't, he wouldn't show up to school at all, while Ruka simply said that he had to convince her to become his Sidekick n°2.

Those didn't really sound like answers to her. But the worst part was that they became so clingy that they didn't leave her alone not even for a second, following her everywhere, unless she was with Karen and Miyo. The worst thing happened the previous day, when she happened to have to use the restroom... and not only they didn't let her go alone, but even stood in front of the door, to be sure that no one was going to enter without them knowing.

But she knew that the troubles were yet to come. Especially that morning. _Especially _because they weren't late. Because Ruka and Kouichi were _always _late... unless there was a special reason.

They were scheming something: there was no other explanations. It was so obvious, in fact, that even Himuro, who happened to be at the gates when they arrived, _glared _at them when he realized they were on time. And it didn't help that, as soon as the teacher wasn't in sight anymore, Ruka took out from the bushes an handmade fishing rod he hid there the previous evening, nobody knew why.

And so, as they sat around on the grass in the courtyard waiting for the lessons to start, she decided to ask him, despite being sure that he would come out with one of those absurd, impossible and yet horribly adorable reasons of his. And whatever he was scheming, even if it was the naughtiest thing in the world, even if by change the victim would be her, she wouldn't be able to get angry.

Ruka, who was still busy playing with his handmade fishing rod, only glanced at her, his eternal smile always at his place.

«You've already done it. But if you have to ask something else, I don't mind.»

«Look, I don't like messing in you business, but could you _tell me _what is that fishing rod for?»

He finally raised his head, his eyes opened wide in that innocent expression that she learned to be associate with troubles.

«For fishing, of course» he replied as if he said something really obvious.

«And what could you possibly be fishing in a school ground?» she asked, suspicious.

He answered with an even bigger smile.

«Lunches!»

...See? She was sure this was going to happen.

While lying down not far from where his brother was sitting, Kouichi opened one eye and let out a sound that was half a laughter and half a sigh.

«Haven't figured it out yet, Nomura? That's the only thing he thinks about: eating, eating and eating. And _what_ he eats is the worst part! Nothing but sweet stuff.»

Ruka pouted, even if he didn't look particularly offended.

«Liar Kou! I eat fish, too. And Misaki-chan's onigiri, of course. But since she hasn't brought one in at least three days, I have to survive somehow. I'm not going to starve to death, because _someone _here is too heartless to feed me.»

Heartless? _Her?_ Just because she didn't prepare his favourite food for three days?

She glared at him in a dangerous way and crossed her arms.

«I can't possibly eat always the same thing, you know? It's bad for the health, and it gets tiring, too. Also, who said that I have to be in charge of feeding you?»

His eyes narrowed, and he smirked.

«I did.»

...She should have imagined he would say something like that. Better give up, before he could say that it was her fault if people starved in the world.

«...Okay, then. Tomorrow I'll prepare some. But maybe I'll put poison in there» she answered with one last glare.

Ruka shrugged.

«Fine with me. I'm immortal, remember? Poison can't kill me.»

...Did he have a reply for _everything?_

Kouichi, his eyes closed again, listened to their cheerful discussion with a smirk, until finally Misaki noticed and glared at him.

«What's with that smirk, Kouichi?»

He shrugged, without opening his eyes.

«It's not bad to have someone to take care of Baka-Ruka for a while. Want to be his _dog-_sitter, Nomura?»

Ruka repeated the word ''dog'' only with his lips, a little puzzled, as if he didn't get what he was trying to say, then grinned as if he kind of liked the idea of being a dog. Misaki rolled her eyes and raised an eyebrow.

«Misaki. MI-SA-KI. That's my name, Kouichi.» she corrected him.

He opened his eyes and looked at her, somewhat perplexed.

«Yeah, I know. So what?»

_''So what?''_, he said? That was stupid!

«If you know, then why don't you use it?» she replied, a little exasperated.

He shrugged.

«Why? Who cares how I call you, as long as you know I'm talking to you?»

Idiot Kouichi! He was such a dork at times! They were friends, right? And normally friends would call themselves by their first names, wouldn't they? Even Ruka called her by her first name!

She growled and puffed her cheeks, turning toward Ruka again, while Kouichi sat up and kept staring at her in slight surprise, as if he really didn't get why she was angry.

«...Annoying woman» he then muttered, making her even more furious.

«Anyway» she said, changing the subject before she could be tempted to punch his nose, «now no one's in sight, so you can tell me why we are on time today. What are you plotting?»

«Plotting?»

«Us?»

The brothers exchanged glances, both with their eyes opened wide, as if they didn't know what she was talking about. With those puzzled faces, they almost did look alike for the first time ever since she met them again; still, it wasn't enough to fool her.

«Yes, you. We are never on time, so there must be something going on. Spit it out!»

They didn't answer, just exchanged glances again, as if they were thinking she was crazy.

_''They're though, huh?''_ Misaki thought to herself in front of their not-so-innocent-looking faces, while the devil on her left shoulder (a devil quite similar to Kouichi, actually) started laughing in an evil way. _''But they still don't know me!''_

She looked up toward the branches of the tree as if she didn't care and said in a calm, nonchalant voice:

«Okay, then. If you don't want to tell me about it, I won't force you. I just wanted to warn you that, if you are plotting something, you shouldn't behave in an unusual way. Himuro noticed that we were on time, and _I'm guessing_ he suspects something.»

«...You think so?» Ruka asked, dropping the innocent expression to show his interest in the matter.

The devil on Misaki's shoulder laughed even harder, while she tried hard not to smirk.

«Definitely. He's not easy to fool, you know?»

The brothers exchanged glances again.

«Ruka, she might be right, you know?» Kouichi said in a low voice.

«Yeah, maybe so. Kou, we must change strategy. Write down the new plan: ''Since Target gets suspicious around unusual behaviour, Hero and Sidekick should start coming on time for three days, and be back late on the fourth. So, as soon as Target relaxes his guard...!''»

«Hey, why do I have to write it down? The original plan was yours!»

As the guys discussed, Misaki's smirk grew even wider, and she leaned forward toward them.

«So you _are_ planning to play a trick on Himuro, after all!»

They immediately stopped discussing and suspiciously stared at her.

«What if we are?» Kouichi asked, back at his old, rude and scary ways. Still, while at first they did scare her, by now Misaki was already used to them and didn't even blink.

«Nothing in particular. I just want you to let me into it. Himuro tested me _three times _this week, so I want to have revenge!»

The brothers exchanged glances yet again, then the both of them stared at her in disbelief. She wasn't sure about what kind of expression she had, but it seemed to impress them.

«Kou, see that evil look she has? Maybe she's not as cute and innocent as she looks!»

«Yeah, I see. Not bad, though» Kouichi answered, apparently pleased.

«Look, Kou! Isn't that a devil on her left shoulder? It kind of looks like you!» Ruka stated, amazed, and Misaki instinctively looked over her own shoulder, as if the Kouichi-looking devil she imagined was really there.

Of course it wasn't, but she still felt a little bit uncomfortable, even if she wasn't really sure why.

«Anyway, will you let me in or not? Ruka, you're the one who said we are a gang, right?»

Ruka's seraphic smile reappeared, and he nodded.

«Indeed. Kou, what do you think?»

Kouichi nodded, too, even if he looked a little more stiff than his brother.

«If you have something that could be useful.»

Misaki smirked mysteriously.

«Actually, I happen to have a cousin who keeps a whole archive of informations about Himuro. When his sister was a student here, he gathered a bunch of informations about everyone, because he was obsessed with finding her a boyfriend. And Himuro was one of the ''candidates'', according to him.»

«_HIMURO_?» Kouichi snorted, disgusted.

Misaki shrugged.

«Well, he's not that bad, you know? Maybe he was even better when he was in his twenties. Anyway, the infos Tsukushi has might be a little outdated, but they could still be useful. If I tell him I need them for something naughty, I'm sure he'll help me. Also, if you'll ever happened to want to play a trick on Headmaster Amanohashi, Tsukushi has something about him, too.»

«...Please, don't tell me old Amanohashi was a ''candidate'' too» Kouichi said, definitely uncomfortable.

«Well, Miki wasn't into him, but Tsukushi said that one has to keep in mind every possible option, so he gathered something about him too. So I heard» she explained, understanding perfectly how he felt.

Both the guys looked as disgusted as ever.

«Eww... I think I'm going to puke» Ruka muttered.

«Nomura, that cousin of yours is SICK.»

She nodded, convinced.

«I know he is. But that's not the point: is his archive enough for me to enter the plan?»

Ruka shrugged as if he already took his decision from the very beginning.

«I've nothing against it. A new sidekick is always welcome.»

«Me neither» Kouichi agreed too after a second of hesitation. «Just don't get in our way.»

«Yes! You won't regret it, guys!» she exclaimed, smiling from ear to ear.

Ruka tapped thoughtfully his chin with a finger, then spoke:

«Then we have to find a secret nickname for you too. You know, for when we talk about plans. I'm ''Hero'', Kou is ''Sidekick''...»

«Why do I have to be the sidekick...?» Kouichi snorted in a bad mood, but Ruka completely ignored him.

«Do you have a nickname in mind?» he asked instead.

Misaki bit her bottom lip, trying to think about a cool nickname. Something that was cool, but suited her and didn't make her feel ridiculous...

«I was thinking about...» she started, but she never got to finish the sentence, because right then...

«BAMBI!»

She barely had the time to recognize Karen's voice that a pair of arms locked around her throat in a more than enthusiastic hug, almost beheading her in the process.

«Kah... Kare... Ugh!» she gasped, as she struggled against her in order not to choke and the two boys looked at the scene in surprise.

«_Bambi?»_ they both exclaimed at the same time.

_''You idiots! Help me out!''_ Misaki thought desperately, but Karen was holding her so hard that she couldn't even let out a breath.

«Beloved Bambi, we were looking everywhere for you!» Karen said, without releasing her grasp not even of an inch. «Right, Miyo?»

Miyo appeared like a ghost beside her, apparently not caring at all about the fact that one of her friends was choking to death right in front of her.

«I wasn't» she answered. «I already knew we would find her... and with whom, too.»

This said, her glance fell on the two brothers. She stared them intently, then slowly started listing:

«Sakurai Kouichi, born on the 19th of May, Star Sign Taurus, blood type A; Sakurai Ruka, born on the 1st of July, Star Sign Cancer, blood type B. Brothers. The first one likes vintage stuff, the latter has a weak spot for... uhm...» she paused for a second, as if she had to think about it, then continued, «it's hard to tell, since right now the only thing he's thinking about is how to steal as many lunches as he can. I can see a strong liking toward pancakes, though.»

Ruka's eyes grew wide in interest, then he clapped his hands.

«Wow! All correct! Are you a psychic or something?»

Miyo smiled a little, pleased with a compliment... but it soon disappeared in front of Kouichi half scary and half spooked expression.

«Hey, you weirdo! Get out of my head!»

Miyo's glance became immediately sharp and steely as her eyes locked into his own in a battle of glares.

«...I forgot to say that the eldest has also the manners of an ogre.»

Maybe remembering of Misaki's old joke, Kouichi's face immediately turned blue and he frowned like he never did before.

«What did ya just say, you _brat?_ Being a dwarf yourself, you shouldn't talk!»

«...She's actually right, Kou» Ruka replied in a serious tone, and Karen, still holding Misaki's head in her lethal headlock, reacted with a cheerful laughter.

«I see everyone is already getting along well! Good thing! Since we are all Bambi's friends, we should be in good terms as much as possible.»

...Why was Misaki having the feeling that she was being ignored, despite the fact that she was dying right in front of their eyes? It wasn't a good feeling. Not good at all!

_''HEY! STOP THE SMALL TALKS RIGHT NOW! SOMEONE'S DYING HERE!''_ she thought, furious, as she kept kicking and struggling to try and free herself.

Finally, Ruka seemed to realize she was still there _and _in trouble, and pointed at her.

«Er... Hanatsubaki-san, right? I agree with you, but if Misaki-chan dies, then the reason for us to get along will cease to exist, don't you think?»

Only then, Karen seemed to realize that she was still strangling her, and immediately released her.

«Oh, I'm so sorry, Bambi! I didn't mean to hurt you! Are you okay?»

Misaki straightened up, with her face still kind of blue, breathing hard and glaring at everyone around her with bloodshot eyes.

«...I'm fine» she said, even if her voice was shaking dangerously and her veins pulsing like never before.

«You don't look good at all, though» Karen noticed, as if she was talking about a simple cold, instead of an attempted murder.

Ruka nodded.

«No, not good at all. You look like you're going to turn into some sort of demon, or something.»

«...I told you I'm fine» she replied, her voice even more scary than before.

Both Kouichi and Miyo interrupted their glare battle to look at her. He whistled, impressed despite himself.

«...Hanatsubaki, if I were you, I'd run away. RIGHT NOW!» he whispered.

Misaki's finger started twitching, as if she was going to strangle someone any second now. Still, despite her voice being almost demonic, she kept saying:

«...What are you talking about? I'm perfectly fine. I'm not thinking about tearing someone apart _at all._»

When her reddened eyes stopped on her, Karen herself started looking a _little_ worried and let out a nervous laughter.

«Ah...ahahah... Bambi, there's no need to look at me like that, you know? Nothing really bad happened, after all! And... You're spoiling your pretty face that way. You don't want to grow wrinkles before turning sixteen, do you? So... N-no need to do anything reckless, right?»

«I would change the subject immediately, if I were you» Miyo suggested calmly, as if it was somebody else's problem. «...Before she kills someone.»

«_She will?_» asked both Karen and Ruka, and Miyo nodded dramatically.

«She will.»

There was no need to say anything else. Ruka, Kouichi and Karen quickly exchanged glances, and she immediately began talking, forcing a smile.

«B-by the way, guys... Bambi talks a lot about you, so I kind of wanted to talk to you for a while. I must say that you do look kind of... impressive!»

«Oh... Impressive, how?» Kouichi asked, looking genuinely interested despite the need to ''change subject''.

«Well, for example you, Kouichi-kun...» she answered, glancing nervously at Misaki every other word. She looked like she was chilling a little... maybe. «You have some kind of... you know, a wild charm of sort. Strong, yet graceful. If I should compare you to an animal, I'd say you look like a tiger.»

The comparison seemed to satisfy him enough, because he showed his teeth in a wide smile.

«Yeah, tiger... I like the sound of that.»

«...When you smirk that way, you look more like a werewolf, though» she immediately added with grin.

His face immediately darkened and he glared at her.

«... A werewolf...» Kouichi sighed, resigned. «And not in a good way, I guess.»

Ruka chuckled under his breath and a sound similar to a choked laughter came from the point were Misaki was.

«Still looks more like an ogre to me, but even werewolf isn't all that bad» she said, and everyone sighed in relief seeing that she looked fine now.

She was terribly scary when she was angry, but at least she chilled fast! Still looked a little pale, but at least she wasn't going to kill anyone soon.

«Now that you mention it, Bambi, it's kind of true: if he was green and with the ears a little more...» Karen considered, examining Kouichi as if he was some new kind of monkey.

His eyes narrowed in a dangerous glare.

«Hey, would you cut it out with this ogre crap? I don't look like one. _And I don't have funnels as ears!_»

«Kou is right» Ruka suddenly intervened, and everyone turned to look at him in surprise, since it was the first time he actually defended his brother. Even Kouichi himself was stunned... at least until he continued: «Ogres are shy creatures too: they don't like being always at the centre of attention. You don't want him to blush and spoil his greenish complexion, do you? Also, I want to know what I look like too.»

_''...Right. That's Ruka for you''_ Misaki thought with a smirk, as Kouichi sighed noisily, as if to say that he should have expected it.

Karen chuckled and opened her mouth to say something, but she was interrupted by Miyo.

«There's no time for small talks, Karen. The lesson will start soon, so we have to hurry up with _it!_»

At her words, Karen seemed to suddenly remember something, and she got up with a jump, grabbing Misaki's arm and dragging her up with her in the process.

«She's right! We have to hurry up, Bambi!»

In those few days, Misaki learned enough about Karen to know that, when she looked so exited, there was _definitely _something suspicious going on.

«...Girls, what is _''it_'' exactly.»

Karen smirked widely and, with one single, gracious movement, took out of her bag a big, pink T-Shirt with a big, glittering heart on it and some big, even more glittering letters on the front, reading:

**CUTIE 3!**

**BAMBI**

There was no need to be geniuses to understand what that meant. No wonder that Misaki, as soon as she saw it, became as pale as a ghost.

«Isn't it extraordinary? I prepared three of them, so that we can have matching T-Shirt when the sisterhood reunites!» Karen explain, exited.

«...''Extraordinary'' is the right word indeed...» Misaki stammered. «But you don't think I should _seriously _wear it, do you?»

«You have to. The stars says it too» Miyo said with her usual calm voice, but that somehow sounded kind of threathening.

Misaki backed away, as if the T-shirt was some kind of bloodthirsty monster.

«No way! Nononono! I can't walk around with a PINK T-Shirt with ''Bambi'' written on it. I still have a dignity, you know? And I HATE pink!»

«You should know it by now, my beloved Bambi» Karen stated, convinced. «Once you are a member of the sisterhood...»

«...dignity doesn't matter anymore» Miyo answered, and they grabbed both of her arms, starting to drag her away.

«No! No way! I refuse! You can't do this to me!» Misaki protested, struggling against their grasp. «Hey, you two! Give me a hand, will you!»

She turned toward the brothers, but she soon realized that not only they OF COURSE weren't going to help her, but they were also breaking their ribs in the effort of not laughing in her face: Ruka pressed both his hands on his mouth to hide it, while Kouichi was making a whole lot of weird and scary faces in order not to laugh.

«You TRAITORS!» Misaki roared, while Karen and Miyo grasped her with even more strength and forced her to come along. «Remember that you're on my list! When the time will come that you'll need something from me...»

The boys exchanged glances and smirked.

«Have fun, _Bambi_!» Ruka said, waving innocently.

Misaki snorted, while Karen briefly turned around to wave at the boys.

«See you soon, guys! I'll tell you what you look like next time we meet, Ruka-kun!»

They both waved in response, as the girls walked away, dragging their friend with them.

As soon as they disappeared, Kouichi lied down again, a smirk still lingering on his face.

«There she goes!» he said. «And that's one brat less for me to babysit.»

Ruka chuckled and sat back, taking a notepad from his bag. _Officially, _it was for taking notes in class; in reality, he used it more for doodling as the teacher talked when he wasn't able to skip the lesson... and to draw complicated strategies to steal lunches and play tricks on his ''Targets''.

«_You_ were the one who was scared someone could do something to her, after what happened the other day» he reminded his brother, while he searched for the page where he drew the plan for the trick to Himuro.

«Yeah, but you said that we had to _protect_ her. As if she even needed it: that girl is more violent than both you and I. Have you seen her before?»

Ruka shrugged.

«She's all talk. I bet she can't even throw a decent punch.»

Kouichi didn't answer, even if he knew Ruka was probably right. A shadow darkened his eyes and, when he finally talked, his voice sounded kind of sad.

«Not like us, huh?»

His brother's smile froze as he ran trough the pages of the notepad, but only for a second. When he finally found the page he was looking for and looked toward him, he was his usual self again.

«Exactly. That's why we have to be her heroes. Also, looking after one another is the duty of a gang, right?»

Kouichi rolled his eyes, then closed them.

«Yeah, yeah. As you say. You'd insist 'til I'll say you're right anyway.»

«Correct» Ruka answered with a small smirk. Then, without another word, he took a pen and scribbled something on the same line where he wrote the names of the participant to the plan. Once he had finished, he put the pen away and contemplated the result for a second as if it was a work of art of sort.

In the corner of the page where the names were listed, there was now written:

_''Hero_

_Sidekick_

_Bambi''_

…

…

…

«Can I at least pick another colour? I just can't stand pink! Please, Karen!» Misaki begged, as she and her friends quickly walked down the corridor in order to get to their classes.

Because of Karen and Miyo, who insisted on making her try her brand new ''Cutie 3'' T-Shirt inside of an empty classroom, they now had not more then five minutes left. Still, despite their need to hurry up, Misaki still hadn't given up on her argument. After all, it was a matter of dignity! Still, Karen and Miyo weren't very keen on listening.

«Sometimes things that you don't like look good on you; and you do look good in pink. It suits your cuteness, beloved Bambi!»

«Also, the stars said that pink is this months lucky colour; so you should wear it, Bambi.»

«...Ahhh... Why me?» she sighed after the expected objections. But no matter how hard she wondered, she didn't get any answer, other than Karen wide grin and Miyo's somewhat sarcastic expression.

«Because we love you _soooo_ much, Bambi dear» Karen said, and Misaki sighed again, resigned.

«...I see.»

No, she didn't. No matter how hard she thought about it, if you love someone, you don't force them to do everything to humiliate them. Still, Karen and Miyo had their own logic, and it didn't really match her own. At times she even wondered how came that they were still willing to stick around.

As far as the T-Shirt was concerned, though, she wasn't willing on giving up before playing all of her cards.

«I still don't agree, though» she declared, determined. «Right now I don't have time to discuss, because I have a lesson with Himuro coming right up, but... Oh, CRAP!»

She suddenly stopped dead on her tracks, frantically looking around as if she lost something. Her friends stopped too, surprised by her sudden burst.

«What is it, Bambi?» Miyo asked.

«...I forgot my stuff in the courtyard. Including Himuro's last assignment. If I show up in class without it, I'm done for.»

The girls froze, both perfectly knowing how strict Himuro was with people who didn't deliver his assignments on time; this, and Misaki wasn't exactly in good terms with him to begin with, being completely dumb and useless in Maths.

«No need to panic, Bambi» Karen tried to cheer her up, even if she looked like she was panicking even more than her. «Probably Ruka-kun and Kouichi-kun picked them up. I don't think they'd just leave your stuff there.»

«Yes, probably so» she agreed. «I should go and check. If I know those two -and I do know them!- they are probably still wandering around trying to skip classes.»

«But what about your class? Homeroom will start in five minutes!» Karen warned her, frowning slightly.

Misaki shrugged and showed her a crooked smile.

«Better being few minutes late than not delivering the assignment. I don't want to die by Himuro's hands, you know?»

That answer was more than enough and her friends didn't object any further, also because, if they kept on chatting, they would be late for sure.

«Okay, then. We go first, Bambi. We'll see you at lunch, then» Miyo said, even if her face, for some reason, looked a little pale, as if she was worried.

Misaki touched her forehead in a playful salute, then nodded.

«Of course! See you later!»

Leaving her friends, she turned around and dashed through the hallway, ignoring every rule about ''not running in the corridors''. Luckily enough, she knew the places were those two reckless idiots of her friends used to hide to skip classes, she she just had to quickly check them, ask them if they did get her stuff and, in case they didn't, going to the courtyard and hope it was still there.

...Okay, there was no way she would be on time. And what's worse was that she couldn't even skip classes, because Himuro saw her at the gates...

She was so busy running and thinking about all the possible outcomes of not delivering that stupid assignment, that she didn't hear the quick footsteps following her, until they were really close. When she finally realized, her first thought was: ''Good, now I'm screwed!''. Some teacher must have seen her and now she was going to get _at least _a lecture. That was how unfortunate she was!

Deciding that it was better not make things any worse than they already were, she stopped and prepared to turn around, few words of apology and guilty expression ready to be shown... but she never managed to.

As soon as she started turning, _something _grabbed her from behind, almost choking her. The grasp was similar to when Karen grabber her before, only stronger... and completely merciless. The _thing _behind her wasn't hugging her: it was choking her _for real!_

She coughed and grabbed the _thing_ with all of her strength, realizing by touching it that it was an arm: an arm that not only was choking her, but also held her so that she couldn't turn around and see who it belonged to. Then, as she tried to scream and call for help, whoever was holding her put something over her head, covering up her already weak voice and blurring her sight. It was something transparent, yet matt and it smelled of plastic.

A plastic bag?

_''No! This can't be happening! Take this thing away! I'm going to choke to death!''_ she thought, desperate, as the grasp loosened a little around her neck, but blocked her arms instead.

As she tried to struggle, she realised that it wasn't only one person holding her: there were more, at least two or three.

Following instinct and desperation, she managed to free one of her arms and scratch on of the hands that were holding her, digging her claws as much as she could in the skin. For a second, the hand let her go and, even if muffled by the bag around her head, she was sure to hear the voice of a girl screeching in pain. Then, before she could even try to do something to free herself, some other hands grabbed her again, trying to drag her away. She struggled, but the more she did, the more she lacked air. Her own breath was sticking to the plastic, making the inside wet and hot and making her strength quickly drain.

Air...

Air!

_AIR!_

She desperately needed air!

Soon enough, she found herself unable to fight anymore, her thoughts drifting away as she let whoever caught her drag her away.

_''Maybe someone will realize I'm missing''_ she hoped. _''Maybe someone'll come to help me.''_

But, even with that comforting thought in mind, her consciousness was quickly fading away. In front of her eyes, the blurred shadow she saw through the plastic were quickly turning into the dark trees of the forest and the muffled and somewhat concerned voices she managed to hear were like the howling of wolves.

The same wolves she was so afraid of as a child. The same wolves that would get her as soon as she was alone. But, back then, there were only two people that could protect her from them, and they weren't there.

«Ruka... Kouichi...» she tried to call their names, but her voice didn't come out.

Then, in a matter of seconds, her mind went completely blank in fear and exhaustion, and she wasn't able to think anymore.

_**TO BE CONTINUED...**_

_**The corner of answers: **I don't think that, after two months, someone is still waiting for an answer, but I'll still put the answer to the unregistered user review here, just in case._

_**Anaya: **Well, I find Ruka kind of easy to describe, not really sure why... even if maybe at times I picture him more like a joker than he actually is. Kou is more problematic to describe. Also, like you, I was one of those who always wondered how the heroine happened to meet such a bunch of... particular people, so I decided to put it in here too, even if I wouldn't call Misaki's attitude really ''complaining''. I'm guessing she likes being surrounded by strange people, even if she often says otherwise._

_Anyway, it's a bit late, but thanks for saying good luck for my exams. I hope yours went better then mine did! _


	5. Some things are better left unknown

_I just decided something: I should absolutely stop giving myself deadlines, because every time I do so, something happens for sure! First, after a long battle lasted years and years, my good old PC died on me. I didn't lose anything important, since I always make backups, and I even managed to save the previous chapters of the story and put them on my laptop, but I had to rewrite the new one. Then, as if it wasn't enough, when I finally completed it... Internet died on me too because of some technical issues. Looks like fate didn't want me to update my poor, old Primrose!  
><em>_Well, now everything looks fine, so I can finally do what I should have done a lot of days ago. Here's the chapter for you: this time it's not even very long. Ah, and I also have to warn you that I'm finally leaving for a fortnight long trip on the other side of the Ocean for my holidays, so I doubt I'll have time to write: and, after I'll be back, I'll probably have to fight against the jet-lag for a couple of days before I'll be back at work. But who knows? Maybe during the trip I'll find something inspiring!  
><em>_So, see you in September, and I wish all of you happy holidays... or what's left of them!_

_**CHAPTER 4**_

_**Some things are better left unknown**_

«Don't you think that maybe -just maybe- we overdid it a little? I mean, if she happened to feel seriously sick, or worse...»

«Don't worry, she won't die. Why do you think we made those holes in the first place?»

«Well, I mean... ''they'' said ''alive and well'', and she doesn't look like she's ''well''. She hasn't moved ever since we brought her here.»

«Listen, ''they'' have no reason to start being picky now. They said ''something the Brothers cared about'', and she's their beloved childhood friend. What could ''they'' want more than this? Also, isn't this a nice revenge for how she answered us on the first day? No one can shame me like that and get away with it.»

«Yes, but if we end up in troubles because of it...»

«We won't. After all, we'll get her out of here as soon as nobody is around. It's already lunch break: she'll just have to wait a few hours. Actually, I can't wait too: I'm curious to see what ''they'' plan to do with her.»

As the conversation continued, Misaki was desperately trying to completely regain her consciousness. She almost completely passed out before they brought her there... wherever ''there'' was; then, when someone finally made some holes on the plastic bag around her head, allowing her to breathe, she finally came back to her senses, if only a little.

She was still feeling a little dizzy and couldn't really understand what they were saying, or who the voices belonged to, but she _did _hear something. Not much, really, but enough to understand who assaulted her in the corridors and that it was because of somebody else. Somebody asked them to, or something. And it was someone related to Ruka and Kouichi.

But _who?_

A question without an answer, since she didn't know much about their life out of school. They never talked about it and, when she realized they didn't want to answer, she stopped asking. And yet, she had been dragged into the matter even if she didn't know anything.

Well, trying to survive all that was probably her best option right now. If something happened to her, she wouldn't be able to tell Ruka and Kouichi that someone was after them. She had to be strong and brave. She had to be as though as those two. That was why, even if her mind still felt kind of numb for the lack of air and the suffocating smell of plastic made her want to puke, she endured everything and forced herself to stay awake, so that she could hear her kidnappers talk and gather as many clues as she could. Then, when they would be gone, she would try to free herself... even if she didn't know how, since they not only tied her hands and feet, but stuck the bag to her head with some tape. Not to mention that, judging from the smell of dust coming from the outside, she had to be closed in some narrow and unused room. The only thing she knew almost for sure was that she was still at school: they did mention lunch break and after class, so that was probably it. Still, it wasn't a very comforting though.

Habataki High was huge. There were probably a lot of empty classrooms and closets. If someone didn't look for her purposely, probably nobody would find her for days! She had to do something so that people would find her.

«Well, we'd better go back to class. The lunch break is almost over.»

«But what if someone asks where she is...?»

«She didn't show up in class, so nobody will. Everyone is probably thinking she has a cold or something. Also, she looks like she's still knocked out cold, so she won't cause any troubles for a while. Let's go, before someone notices we are here.»

After those words, she heard some footsteps and the sound of a door opening and closing, then nothing else other than her own breathing.

She was alone.

After waiting a few seconds to be sure they were gone, Misaki started struggling again, hoping to break the strings around her hands and feet and biting the bag to try and tear it apart.

Nope. The strings didn't budge and the bag almost choked her. She wanted to scream and try to call for help, but her voice was still weak: probably nobody would hear it out of the room. Still, she didn't give up. Since she couldn't free herself, nor call someone, she decided to try and make some noise in another way: she started slamming the chair she was sitting on, hoping someone would hear its noise from the outside.

...Nothing.

Well, if what her kidnappers said was true, the lunch break was almost over. People were probably heading toward their classrooms right now; also, she had no idea where she was exactly, so maybe she wasn't in a place were people used to pass by.

Exhausted, Misaki stopped struggling for a while to regain her breath. Despite the holes on the bag, the air that entered still wasn't enough: she couldn't make too many efforts without feeling sick.

Then, as she was starting to get desperate over what to do, she heard some voices from the outside, and she rejoiced when she realized they were familiar ones.

«I'm sure something happened to her! Bambi has never stood us up without a warning!»

_''Karen!''_ Misaki though, as a warm feeling wrapped her chest.

«That Taira guy, the one in her class, said she didn't show up for the lesson not even this morning. Seems like she disappeared right after she left you.»

«So it seems. Are you sure she's around here, Miyo-chan?»

«The stars said she must be around here, but they didn't tell me exactly where. And don't call me that, please.»

Kouichi and Ruka? And Miyo was there, too!

Hearing their voices, Misaki felt a burst of energy coming back to her, and she immediately started moving again, trying to make noise and calling their names with the weak voice she had left. As the sound of their footsteps approached, she struggled even harder, fearing that they wouldn't hear her, that they would pass by without realizing she was there.

Luckily enough, that wasn't the case. In fact, the footsteps stopped right in front of the door.

«Kou, did you hear it too?» Ruka's voice suddenly said, worried like she never heard it before.

«Yeah. It came from behind that door!»

She heard some gasping sounds, immediately followed by Karen's voice.

«Bambi! Is that you?» she called, slamming on the door as if she wanted to tear it open. «Just wait! We are coming!»

Someone -maybe Karen herself- tried pulling the handle several times, but to no avail.

«It's... locked...» Misaki tried to warn them, but her voice was so weak that it would be a miracle if they heard it.

Yet, apparently they did, because Ruka answered.

«Misaki-chan, what's going on in there? Are you alright?»

«I...think so... I'm tied up and... I have a bag over my head...»

After her answer, she clearly heard someone swearing, right before Kouichi's voice, even more aggressive than usual, declared:

«Get away from there, you! I'm breaking in!»

«You can't do that» Miyo interrupted him, and he growled, furious.

«Then what? You want me to just sit back as Nomura chokes to death?»

Miyo sighed as if she was talking to a very stupid little kid, then answered:

«We don't have to rush things, because Bambi has something in her mind. That's what the stars said.»

Despite the situation she was in, Misaki couldn't help but smile at Miyo's words. As always, the stars were never wrong. Kouichi, though, didn't seem to agree with her.

«I don't care about those stars of yours, you lunatic dwarf! Get out of...»

«Calm down! I have a better idea» Ruka interrupted them. «Hanatsubaki-san, do you happen to have an hairpin?»

Misaki couldn't seen Karen's face, but she could almost picture her grinning.

«Of course I do! A girl always has to have an hairpin with her!»

A short, rustling sound followed, then she heard Ruka's voice again.

«Hang on just a minute, Misaki-chan. You'll be free in no time!»

Then, as soon as he stopped talking, she heard the sound of something being forced inside of the lock and she realized he was actually lock-picking it! As he worked, Kouichi's voice asked him in a somewhat perplexed way:

«Ruka, where did you learn that?»

«I practised while trying to break into your room when you locked it, big brother» he answered calmly, as if it was a perfectly normal things to do.

«Hey!» Kouichi roared, but before he could threaten him more, the lock finally gave up and the door opened.

Because of the bag, Misaki could only see the silhouettes of her friends, so she couldn't really tell who was who, but soon enough they were by her side. Someone cut the tape around her throat and tore the plastic bag away from her face, while someone else quickly removed the strings from her wrists and ankles.

As her blurred sight slowly focused, she finally managed to distinguish the place she was in, some kind of small, dusty warehouse for old desks and chairs, and the worried faces of her friends all around her. She had no idea what kind of face she had: probably she looked horrible, all sweaty and exhausted, because they were looking at her as if their just saw a ghost.

After taking a long breath to finally fill her almost empty lungs, Misaki forced herself to smile, despite that annoying side of herself that wanted to cry and tell them how scared she was.

She didn't want them to worry about her.

«I love you all, guys!» she said instead. «You're the best friends in the whole world!»

Despite her effort to sound normal, she couldn't help but coughing every two words, and the faces of her friends became even more pale. Karen hugged her, as if she wanted to be sure she was really safe and sound, and even Miyo put an hand on her shoulder in a comforting way.

«Bambi, we were worried sick about you! What happened?»

Misaki shook her head and hugged them both, before turning toward the boys: Ruka was unusually deadly serious, with a furious look in his eyes that made him look kind of scary; Kouichi was literally furious and was gritting his teeth as if he wanted to kill someone.

«...Who did this to you?» he asked.

«I think I know...» she answered, her voice still shaking. «But.. I need to confirm...»

She couldn't finish the sentence, because her lungs were still in pain for the lack of hair and she was forced to cough. Seeing her like that, Ruka lightly patted his brother's shoulder to make him understand that he didn't have to ask more.

«We'll think about this later. Now we have to take Misaki-chan to the infirmary ASAP. She looks like she just came out of a gas chamber.»

Despite himself, Kouichi was forced to agree on that point, since his friend's face was almost blue. With the help of the girls, they helped her up, lending her their shoulders, since she still staggered at every step, too weak to walk.

As soon as they were out of the dusty room, Misaki let out a small, weak, yet cheerful laugher.

«I'm alive!» she exclaimed. «I'm really alive! For a moment there... I though I would die for real!»

«Don't be stupid. Of course you wouldn't. You have a hero as a friend, after all!»

Ruka was trying to joke as usual to cheer her up, even though there was obviously a trace of worry and anger in his voice and his smile. Misaki noticed that, but didn't have the time to wonder why, because she felt like her head was becoming heavier. She was exhausted and seriously needed a rest.

Without thinking, she lied her head on Kouichi's shoulder and closed her eyes, blindly letting the boys lead her footsteps.

«Hey, what're you doing?» he flinched, surprised, but she didn't move.

«I love you all...» she repeated instead, still with her eyes closed. «When I'll be better... you ask whatever you want... because I really owe you one...»

Embarrassed by her words, Kouichi turned away, muttering by himself.

«''Whatever we want...''. What an idiot!»

Ruka gave him a crooked grin, like he knew better, while the girls chuckled.

«What are you laughing at, you dwarf!» Kouichi roared when he realized that Miyo was still looking at him with that sly and mysterious look of hers.

«Nothing» she answered. «But it's the first time I see and ogre blushing.»

He turned away from her, huffing.

«...Annoying dwarf. Be thankful that I have other things to worry about, since the brat here almost died on us.»

«That's... not the way to talk... to a girl, Kouichi» Misaki reproached him and, while Kouichi growled, Ruka chuckled.

«See, Kou? She can still tease you, so she's not going to die after all!»

«...Shut up, idiot» his brother answered.

They didn't say anything else until they finally reached the infirmary. They opened the door and helped Misaki to walk inside, but soon realized that the nurse wasn't there.

The boys made her lie on the bed and she covered her eyes with her hands, as if the light was disturbing her. Her head was still all fuzzy, but the pain at the lungs was slowly fading away, so maybe she was only exhausted. Even her friends' voices seemed far, far away.

«Maybe she'll be fine by just resting, but I think it would be best if the nurse was here to take care of her. She looks like she's been through a lot» Ruka was saying, and Karen immediately answered.

«You're right. Then I'll go see if I can find her: I just can't see Bambi's cuteness being wasted by this terrible event!»

«Then I'll go with you» Miyo volunteered. «The stars might tell me where she is, if I come along.»

«Fine. Then, Kou and I will stay here and keep her company. Right, Kou?» Ruka said in a slightly threatening way, as if he was challenging the brother to say otherwise. Kouichi didn't seem too keen on protesting, though.

«...Yeah» he just said.

After that, Misaki heard the door opening and the footsteps of her girlfriends as they got out of the room. She kept her eyes firmly closed to protect them from the light but, as she heard the bed she was on creaking, she was forced to open them again to see what was going on.

Ruka was sitting on the bed beside her, looking at her with one of the sweetest looks she'd ever seen on him, kind of like a father who's looking at his daughter recovering from a nasty illness; Kouichi was standing behind him like a very pissed bodyguard, looking even more angry than before.

«Is it better now?» asked Ruka, concerned.

She nodded and tried to smile, even if she was so tired that it was hard to even move the muscles of her face. It looked as if she had forgotten how to do it.

«Yes, I'm fine, really. I'm just tired.»

At her answer he nodded too, as if he was perfectly content with this. His brother, though, didn't seem to agree. In fact, before she could even _think _about asking him what was on his mind, he blurted out in an aggressive voice.

«You know who did this to you, don't you?»

«Kou...!» Ruka warned him in a reproachful way, as to say that it wasn't the right time, but he didn't listen. In fact, he looked like he'd forgotten the brother was there.

Misaki thought about what to answer for a second. She knew that what just happened was something serious: if the authorities of the school would find out, not only the responsible party would be suspended or, even worse, expelled, but they would even risk more serious legal problems. Kidnapping was still kidnapping, no matter what was the reason. But that wasn't the thing that worried her the most. What was bothering her was the reaction of Ruka and Kouichi: what would they do, if they found out it happened because of them? Judging by Kouichi's face, certainly nothing very diplomatic. BUT! If she didn't tell them, she wouldn't be able to warn them that there was someone after them.

An hard choice indeed. Unless...

«I haven't seen who it was, but I have a slight idea. Also, I scratched one of them: they should still have the signs of my nails.»

She smiled naughtily, proud of the sharpness of her nails.

«So, what are you planning to do once you find out for sure?» Ruka asked, narrowing his eyes in a somewhat nasty glance.

«I haven't decided yet. Maybe denounce them, maybe threaten them... maybe kill them, if I'll wake up on the wrong side of the bed» she added with a grin.

Kouichi frowned, still angry despite her trying to joke around.

«I root for the last one. And I say we have to do it _now_.»

«...I kind of agree with him on this one» Ruka admitted, despite Misaki's glare. «But, since apparently we can't, I'd say that at least you should denounce them. It'd be interesting to see Himuro's face, once he'll find out that this kind of thing happened right under his nose.»

He was right. He was indeed right. Maybe she should have simply explain what happened to the authorities and stop thinking about it. Yet, her kidnappers did mention the ''Brothers'', and that was one of the things that bothered her. She wasn't sure whether she was just nosy or she wanted to protect them, but if she denounced those people, then she'd never find out _who _was behind what happened and _why_ they were trying to hurt her friends. What could they possibly have done, to have someone kidnap one of their friends right under their noses.

She wanted to find out. She couldn't just let it slide, no matter what. But, if she told her friends about it, they would probably stop them and do something on their own... and most likely something stupid. So, she'd better not tell anything to them: after all, some things are better left unknown.

«Well, I'll think about it. But not right now: I need to rest. Could you leave me alone for a while? I can't sleep if you stare at me» she said, trying to change the subject.

The guys stared at her still pale and tired face for a few seconds, then Ruka nodded and stood up.

«Okay, then. You've been through a lot, after all. Just rest. We'll be waiting outside of the door, so that nobody will _bother _you.»

According to the way he pronounced the word _''bother''_, he probably meant _''attack''_. He didn't say it, though. Probably he didn't want to scare her.

«Let's go, Kou» he said, walking toward the door.

Kouichi nodded and got up, but, before he followed him, he lifted a bag in front of her and dropped it beside the bed.

«I'm betting this is yours» he said, and Misaki smiled when she recognized her bag. She didn't notice he had it before.

«Yup. Thank you.»

Kouichi mumbled something that sounded a lot like ''idiot troublemaker'' under his breath, then followed his brother and they both left the room.

After they closed the door, Misaki waited for a few moments until she was sure that they weren't going to come in all of a sudden, then sat up and took her bag. She was still feeling a little dizzy, but there was no time for her to act weak. If she wanted to find a solution to that mystery, she couldn't afford to lose not even a minute... there was only one person that could help her, even if she would prefer not to ask for his help.

She took the cellphone out of her bag, turned it on and entered the one phone number that, after all his evil pranks, she didn't want to use. After only a few seconds, a voice answered her call. Probably he was surprised to see her call too, because he sounded kind of shocked.

«...Saki? Did the hell freeze or something?» he said.

She snorted, but held back to impulse to hang up and instead took her time to taste the effect of his surprise, before continuing with determination:

«I've got no time for small talks, Tsukushi. I need your help.»

_**TO BE CONTINUED...**_

_**The corner of answers: **As usual, answers for unregistered users are here!_

_**Darkness01: **I'm glad you liked it and hope this one hasn't disappointed you! As for the characters personality, I find it kind of hard not to go off characters, since I wasn't the one who created them and, to be honest, I'm not an ace in Japanese either. Thank goodness TokiMemo isn't particularly hard to understand, or else I would have dropped it three years ago, when I played the first one and I understood only one word per sentence!_

_Anyway, happy holidays to you too. I hope you'll enjoy yours, because I intend to fully enjoy mine!_


	6. The Charm of a Smile

_At last, here's the final chapter. Now that the RL issues are over, I think I'm can say I'm officially back to business. Anyway, the first part is more about the mystery stuff, while the rest is full of the fluff everyone is so fond of. I guess this chapter is more Kouichi oriented, given the circumstances; as for Ruka's fans, no worries. He'll have his moments too... only a little later._

_**CHAPTER 5**_

_**The charm of a smile**_

The happenings of the previous day set Misaki's wish to find out the truth about the assault on fire: that was the reason why she asked for help from her evil yet well-informed cousin Tsukushi. She had to go over all of his blackmailing procedure, but she also stumbled into something quite interesting. That was the reason why, when she stepped into the classroom like the events of the previous day never happened, she felt as victorious as a paladin who just got back from a glorious and heroic battle.

Her kidnappers made a mistake, and now she was the one with the winning hand; she just had to play her cards right.

As soon as she dropped the bag on her desk, Taira immediately approached, a big smile on his face.

«Nomura-san!» he greeted her. «So you came! I thought you were sick or something!»

«Kind of» she answered with a huge grin. «But it was nothing serious. By the way, the Witch isn't arrived yet, is she?»

Taira quickly glanced at the side of the classroom where most of the girls sat, then shrugged.

«Apparently not. Not even her ''pets'' are here yet» he said, referring to Misaki's archenemy Morimoto Megumi and the girls who always hung out with her.

«I see. I'll wait for her, then.»

Misaki's grin grew even wider as she sat on her chair, her legs crossed. Taira blinked, surprised, and for a second he looked like he wanted to ask her what did she want from Morimoto. He knew the two of them didn't get along. After a while, though, he decided that it was better for him to mind his own business and didn't investigate any further.

Meanwhile, she remained still and quiet, smiling by herself like some evil boss from an RPG who just managed to make the heroes fall in his trap, until the door finally opened and Morimoto made her appearance in the classroom, followed by some of her minions as usual. Her expression was as arrogant as usual but, as soon as she noticed Misaki's presence in the classroom, she turned as pale as a ghost, her mouth comically opened in shock and disbelief. She then quickly turned away, looking everywhere except the place where she was.

Misaki waited until the girls got back to their usual places, then she rose from her chair and slowly walked toward them, enjoying every minute of the sight of their frightened faces..

«Hi there, folks!» she greeted them cheerfully, as if nothing ever happened.

The girls sitting beside Morimoto turned away as if they were scared to look at her, but she didn't, trying to behave as usual.

«...What do you want? We don't have time to spare with a working-class delinquent like you.»

If not for the fact that she was in an extreme good mood, Misaki would have probably slapped her. Still, she knew that Morimoto wasn't the only one in that school to think that way about ''working-class kids''... and honestly, she had no time to thing about that stupid abuse. She was attacked, and that was far more serious.

«I'm no delinquent and the condition of my family isn't something you should concern about.» she chirped, apparently as cheerful as before, but with a threatening look lingering on her face. «What I came here for is to ask if one of you could lend me her notes of the last maths class... since it's your fault if I missed it.»

Two of the girls gasped and one of them opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but Morimoto shut her up with a gesture and gave Misaki a raging glare.

«I have no idea what you're talking about» she said coldly.

«Unfortunately for you, I perfectly know what _I'm _talking about. And you know, too, Morimoto-san. Or else...»

Before she could react, Misaki grabbed her wrist and quickly pulled back the sleeve of her jacket, showing five, long scratches on her skin. Morimoto gasped and tried to cover them, but it was too late. She already saw them.

«It must have been a VERY big cat to scratch you that way» she chanted in her most evil way. «A cat with five fingers, perhaps?»

Morimoto grew even paler, staring at Misaki's face as if she was looking for a weakness, but the only thing she saw was her stern expression.

Without any hint of uneasiness, she sat down on the free chair in front of her archenemy, joining her fingers together as if she was meditating.

«You know» she started, while her grin completely disappeared from her face, «I know a person who knows a lot of things, so I already have an idea of what happened. Still, there are some black holes that need to be filled in. Do you mind to explain why did you do this to me? Or do I have to show you just how ''delinquent'' I could be?»

Morimoto didn't answer, looking away from her. Her friends were fidgeting, as if they didn't know what to do if their leader didn't tell them.

_''They're nothing but a bunch of dolls''_ Misaki thought, feeling kind of sad for them. _''How can someone with even a little bit of dignity renounce to a personality to follow someone so blindly? Can't they thing for themselves?''_

Then, after a second of hesitation, the so-called leader finally spoke, showing her usual, arrogant expression as a wall against her.

«We have nothing to talk about, Nomura-san.»

Misaki sighed, getting up from the chair. She was kind of expecting that kind of answer, so she wasn't caught off guard, but still, she would have preferred if she decided to talk voluntarily, instead of forcing her to use the same methods as Tsukushi. But she had no choice, anyway.

«If you don't want to talk about it, someone else will. I could report you, you know? I haven't broke out of that room alone. Some people saw what you did to me» she threatened her in a low voice, so that no one else around them could hear her, except for her friends. «I think they might be interested in knowing about your relationship with some guys from another school not far away from here, too. And...»

Misaki stopped, hesitating just for a second. This was pretty risky, because it wasn't only about her anymore. Ruka and Kouichi were involved, even though she didn't tell them yet. If she mentioned their names now, she could either obtain what she wanted, or create a whole bunch of troubles for everyone; still, if she didn't gamble, she'd waste all of her chances to understand what was happening.

«...if _someone else _finds out about what was the incident about, I'll have no way to prevent something bad to happen. You'll all probably be expelled, and the people you are trying to protect will be in even worse troubles.»

There, she said it! She could just hope that things would turn out the way she wanted to.

Thankfully, the reaction of Morimoto was exactly the one she hoped for. She gritted her teeth and looked at her straight in the eyes, trying to look aggressive, though no matter how she tried, she only looked scared and cornered.

«Are you blackmailing me?»

«Somewhat. It's my way of being a ''delinquent'', if you know what I mean. But I don't lie: if I don't say that you and your friends here are involved, nobody will know and you won't be involved. If someone asks me something, I'll just say that I don't know who locked me in that room. The only condition is that you have to tell me what's going on exactly.»

A short silence followed Misaki's words, as Morimoto thought about what to do. Then, she suddenly stood up and, after telling her friends to stay there, grabbed her wrist to drag her in the farthest corner of the classroom, where nobody could hear them.

«What is it that you know, exactly?» she asked in a low voice, while quickly glancing around to make sure no one was listening.

«Just a few facts. Ruka and Kouichi never talk to me about the rumour about them, but they kind of let slip that they are being ''picked on'' from time to time. So I just asked _someone_ to let me know if there had been fights or other minor incidents involving my friends. Looks like there are some rumours about a couple of fights involving both Ruka and Kouichi, together with some students from a school nearby. Yotakado High School, if I'm not mistaken. Also, if my informations are correct, you're going out with a student of that school» Misaki answered and, as soon as she finished talking, she sighed.

Those were the information Tsukushi could find her in a day, and they weren't very encouraging. They might be only rumours, but they were enough of a confirmation that there really was something true behind the brothers reputation. Whether it was their fault or they were really being picked on, she couldn't know. Of course she hoped her friends would really do something bad, and maybe that was the reason why she wanted to find out the truth so badly. If Ruka and Kouichi didn't want to talk, that was the only way she had left!

Morimoto carefully thought about what Misaki said, then finally spoke.

«That's correct. There are some... bad guys at that school. The kind of people that would easily beat someone into a bloody pulp, then let them die along the street. And they don't like those friends of yours.»

Misaki nodded to encourage her to go on.

«So?»

«I don't know the details. They just happened to find out that my boyfriend was dating me, and they started bugging him about finding a way to get to the Sakurai Brothers. He didn't want to end up in troubles with them, so he asked me and I told him about you. I didn't want those freaks to hurt my boyfriend, so I offered to try and kidnap you. They were sure that, if they had you, the Brothers would immediately try to rescue you. But it didn't work, and now we are all in troubles anyway.»

Misaki chewed her bottom lip as she listened to what the other girl had to say. I sounded kind of weird, as if she suddenly left the reality she knew and ended up in a spy movie. It was hard to take something like that seriously.

«Are these guys that dangerous?» she asked, still sceptical. «How can some guys of our own age be like gangsters? Aren't they just some bullies?»

«Maybe» Morimoto answered with irritation. «But I seriously don't want to know. You do?»

With a sigh, Misaki shook her head.

«...No, I suppose. Can you tell me the names of this guys, at least?»

«Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you. I don't want other troubles.»

After saying these last words, Morimoto looked away from her and refused to say anything else. Normally, Misaki would insist about something that important, but the other girl looked seriously down, so she decided not to pry. After all, if what she found out was true, probably Ruka and Kouichi already knew about those bullies. Maybe they even suspected that there were them behind the aggression. But if that was the case, they could at least say something about it!

...Ah, what an headache! It looked like she was cursed to spend all of her time in that school with her head hurting!

«...Okay, then» she gave up already. «I'll keep my promise and won't tell anyone about the incident. But you and your friends still owe me something.»

Morimoto showed her an exhausted face, as if she was wondering what was she plotting now.

«What do you want?» she asked, sounding strangely meek in comparison of how arrogant she usually was.

Misaki smirked, with her head filled with all sort of medieval tortures. After they almost made her choke to death, the idea of doing something cruel to them was really, _really _tempting; still, she liked to consider herself as a nice girl, so, if she didn't want to change her mind about that ideal-self, she had to be nice even then.

«Oh, don't worry!» she ended up saying with a big smile. «It will be fun... for me, at least.»

…

…

…

«Your maths homework is ready, Misaki-sama!» Morimoto said with a resigned look, as she handed her back her notebook.

«Do I have to help you carry your bag, Misaki-sama?» said one of her friends, trying to grab Misaki's bag from the desk.

«No, I'll carry it for Misaki-sama! I'm more reliable than you!» another one interrupted her.

Misaki watched the bickering girls while grinning widely, feeling both very evil and very satisfied.

«Don't fight, girls! There's enough job for everyone!» she said. «The lesson is over, so all you have to do is carry my bag until the gates. Then, you'll be free.»

That was her idea. To make up for what they did to her, Morimoto and her loyal helpers had to be her slaves for the whole day. So, they basically spent all of the lesson copying the notes for the lessons she missed the day before, doing her homework and stuff. At the end of the day, it was as if she never missed that day. Carrying her bag was just a little ''bonus'' over the rest of the task, while the ''Misaki-sama'' part was just funny to listen. Unfortunately, the school day was now over, so she had to release them.

What a pity! She was just starting to have fun!

While everybody around them stared with curiosity, Misaki and her bunch of ''temporary'' servants got out of the classroom and exited in the courtyard, directed toward the gates. As soon as they were there, despite her evil side who wanted a little bit more of revenge, she finally decided to let them go.

«Okay, that's it. You can go, now. You don't owe me anymore... for now, at least.»

The girls gave her a poisonous look, but nothing more than that. They knew they were wrong and that they were lucky not to be expelled. Then, without a word, they took their leaves, running away before she could change her mind.

Misaki was still staring at their backs with a satisfied grin, when she heard someone applauding right behind her.

«Not bad, Misaki-chan. Or should I say, ''Misaki-sama''.»

Recognizing the voice, she quickly turned around with a smile. Ruka was standing near the gate and was looking at her with her usual amused face.

«Ruka!»

As she called his name, he came closer and shot a quick glance at the other girls, who were now far away.

«So, they were the ones who locked you in that room?» he asked casually, despite the killer look in his eyes.

«Something like that, but I think they learned their lesson, so I'll let it slide.»

Ruka's eyes narrowed and, even if he didn't drop his casual attitude, Misaki could tell that he was angry. Very angry.

«...You're too nice. If I were you, they would end up in my Bad Guys List right away» he hissed.

For a second, he looked kind of a scary and Misaki could easily imagine that, when he was furious, he could be as scary as Kouichi, if not more. Of course she kind of knew about that: if the both of them had that kind of reputation, there had to be a reason; still, seeing it with her own eyes was another thing and she was kind of overwhelmed by that reality.

As much as she wanted not to believe the rumours, there was definitely something dark in her childhood friends lives and, when she was attacked the day before, she realised that just hanging out with them could be dangerous. Even so, she wanted to protect them; she wanted them to be safe, even if she didn't know how to help them.

Trying to shake away that feeling, she laughed.

«This is bad, Ruka! A hero must be ready to forgive those who repent of their sins!»

At her words, the scary expression disappeared and he smirked.

«That's why I haven't caught them and tied them on a railway!» he joked. «This and... because you probably wouldn't want me to do it.»

Misaki nodded.

«You got that right.»

Ruka stared at her for a few seconds with a questioning look, as if he wanted to read her mind. She quickly looked away, as if he could really see what was going on inside of her head.

«...You aren't hiding something from me, are you?»

She wasn't sure what to answer. If she said she wasn't it would be a lie; if she said she was, then they could end up doing something crazy, and she didn't want them to purposely go looking for troubles. But even not telling them that someone was trying to hurt them felt wrong!

...Ah, what an headache!

«Tell me just one thing, Misaki-chan. Did it all happen because of us, by any chance?» Ruka insisted, and Misaki swallowed hard.

Well, that confirmed her hypothesis. She didn't know about Kouichi, but Ruka definitely suspected something.

After a brief moment of hesitation, she finally spoke.

«Some people don't like you. I don't know much, really, but... I just want you to be careful and not end up in trouble. I don't want something bad to happen to either of you.»

Ruka's eyes narrowed even more and she clearly saw his firsts tightening, as if he wanted to hit something right then and there. But this lasted only a few seconds; after that, his normal smile returned as if nothing happened.

«We'll stay out of troubles, then. If that's what you want, it can be done.»

Misaki barely kept herself from hugging him right that instant.

«Thank you!» she said with a grateful smile, feeling a little relieved.

Ruka shrugged as if it was nothing important, then the tension completely disappeared from his features and he turned back to the cheerful and slightly crazy guy she knew so well.

«Anyway, let's stop talking about depressing stuff! I wanted to ask you if...» he started, but Misaki interrupted him on the spot.

«I've got nothing to eat right now!»

He pouted for a second, then shrugged.

«What a shame! I just happened to be a little hungry, but I guess I'll have to resist a little longer» he sighed. «Question number two, then: do you know how to prepare beef curry?»

Surprised by the sudden request, Misaki frowned.

«Yes, but it depends on how you want to cook it. Why?»

Surprisingly, Ruka looked away and appeared somewhat embarrassed.

«Well, you know... Kou likes this kind of stuff.»

With that embarrassed face, he looked as adorable as a puppy dog and Misaki couldn't help but smile. She stood on her tiptoes and reached out for his head, patting it lightly.

«Awww, how cute! You want to make your big brother happy?»

He glared at her instantly, even if the embarrassment was still there.

«As if! It's just that, since we always eat what I like, I though that at least on his special day we could eat something he likes.»

«Special day?»

Misaki tilted her head, puzzled. It was enough for Ruka to understand that she had no idea what he was talking about. He sighed, shaking his head.

«Do you know what day it is today, Misaki-chan?»

She nodded and took out her cellphone, just to be sure.

«Yeah, it's May the 19th... CRAP!»

Before she could even finish the sentence, she already realized what the problem was and started beating her forehead with her fists! Because of all that happened, she completely forgot, but that day was actually...

«It's Kouichi's birthday! How could I forget something so important! I'm an idiot! _Idiot! _IDIOT!»

«Oh, well... Kou certainly won't like this. He'll feel like a dog left outside in the rain» stated Ruka, who for some reason appeared almost pleased.

Desperate, she quickly checked the hour on her cellphone. It was still pretty soon. Maybe, if she hurried up, she could still manage to buy a little present and go give it to him. It was too late for something great, but it was better than nothing.

«Say, Ruka, where is he now?»

«He left a few minutes before me, since he works at Stallion today. You'll probably find him there» he answered, already knowing what her deal was.

«The Gas Station? Thanks!» she said with her biggest smile. «Then I have to go, or else I'll never make it in time! See you, Ruka!»

As quick as a thunderbolt, she dashed out of the gates.

«Hey, what about the recipe...!» he called her out, still surprised by her speed. But she was already too far, and the loud voices of the other students were enough to cover his own.

Since there was nothing else he could do, he shrugged and left the courtyard himself. Somehow, he felt a little gloomy. It was no big deal, really, but he was a little saddened by the fact that she just stood him there to run to his brother, even forgetting about what he asked her. Yeah, he knew Misaki was like that: forgetful until the end! He even found that side of her kind of cute at times, since it was easy to tease her, but still...!

...Okay, maybe he was just a little bit jealous. Just a little, though.

Then suddenly his cellphone started to buzz. He took it out of the pocket to see he just got a new mail. When he opened it, he saw a list of ingredients and simple instruction on how to cook a decent beef curry. Then, at the end of the message, just another line of text:

_''...I haven't forgotten about you, you know? Have a nice dinner!''_

After reading the mail, Ruka chuckled and put his cellphone back in his pocket. Maybe it really wasn't big deal, but there was one thing he couldn't deny: he felt a little happier than before, and it was thanks to her.

…

…

…

«Stallion, Stallion, Stallion... Ah, there it is!»

The Gas Station were Kouichi worked wasn't exactly one of the places where she used to hang around, so the way to get there was still a bit unfamiliar. Still, after a while, she managed to find her way and get there. She was holding in her hands a little red package containing the present she just bought: a plastic model of a SR400 motorbike. She would have wanted to find something more useful for her friend, but she couldn't afford to spend a lot of time on choosing and, since she knew he liked motorbikes, she thought it would be a good idea to buy that one. Still, the more she thought about it, the more it seemed weird that she had to present him a toy. Also, she had no idea if she could manage to give it to him, since he was working. She wasn't even a client, after all!

Anyway, she had to try. It was already bad enough that she forgot about his birthday, but not even congratulate and giving him a present would be terrible.

She kept her distance from the Station so as not to caught too much attention, carefully looking around to spot him. Then, after a while, she finally saw him busy with his job, wearing his red uniform.

«Target locked! Here I go!» she exclaimed, and began walking to approach him.

She wasn't even arrived nearby that she saw the car Kouichi was serving exiting the station fast... too fast, in fact! Then, a short, sturdy man approached her friend and started yelling at him. She couldn't understand what he was saying, but he certainly looked very angry. Misaki stopped dead on her tracks, wondering if maybe it wasn't the right moment to go there. She waited, studying the situation to see how it would evolve. Then, when the sturdy man stopped yelling, Kouichi left his place and walked inside the building in the back of the station. She couldn't see his face, but he did look kind of down.

It was really sad to see Kouichi that way. Even when they were little, he always looked like some sort of warrior who was never scared of anything and that nobody could hurt; even more so now, since he became so tall and strong that nobody could ever bend him. Misaki wasn't used to seeing him down. It just wasn't like him.

_''Okay, I definitely need to go there!'' _she decided. Maybe it was nothing, but she just couldn't leave it at that after she saw him that way.

The only problem was that the building he went inside was staff only, and she couldn't just walk in... not if somebody spotted her, anyway. She would have to sneak inside.

Before the workers could see her, she changed the course of path so to be able to walk in the back of the Station, avoiding the gazes of the people there. Then, she waited until all the staff was busy to make a run for it and quickly sneak inside of the door.

As soon as she walked inside, she spotted a very depressed-looking Kouichi sitting beside a table, looking at his fist with his frowned face.

«Hey there, little ogre! Someone stole your candies?» she greeted him cheerfully.

Kouichi looked up, surprised, then frowned even more when he realized who she was.

«Nomura? What the heck are you doing here? It's off limits!»

She rolled her eyes, then simply sat down in front of him as if she was at her home.

«Yeah, yeah, I know. But I saw you a little down, so I thought I'd come and cheer you up. So, what happened? Your boss scolded you?»

Kouichi shrugged as if he didn't care, even though his expression said otherwise.

«Yeah. Looks like I scared a customer. Again.»

«What have you done to scare him?»

«Nothing. I just asked them I could I be of service.»

Given the situation, Misaki would have wanted to be understanding, but she just couldn't help it. When she imagined the scene, she started laughing.

«What're you laughing about? I'm being serious here!»

«Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you» she apologized, even if she was still giggling. «It's just that, when I imagined the scene...»

Kouichi glared at her, making that kind of scary face that Misaki learned to associate with a pout.

«And here I thought you came to cheer me up...» he muttered, disappointed.

Seeing how upset she was, she forcefully choked her laughter, trying to be serious.

«Well, you know, Kouichi... If you make that face every time you approach a customer, it's normal for them to get scared.»

He glared again, frowning even more.

«It ain't my fault if I have this face, ya know?»

Misaki shook her head and leaned forward over the table to look at him more closely. As a reaction, Kouichi leaned backward, surprised.

«What do you want now?»

«See, it's not the face itself the problem. You don't look bad» she stated, examining him like a doctor would. «It's the expressions you make. Like now, for example: I know you, so I understand that you're just a little in a bad mood; if I didn't thought, I'd say you are glaring at me like you wanted to kill me. If you just smiled a little bit more...»

«Sorry if I can't smile whenever someone tells me to» he snorted, then looked down at his hands.

Misaki sighed, resigned. Maybe Ruka was right when he said that Kouichi often behaved like a little kid. Even if she told him he looked cute when he smiled, he wouldn't believe her!

«Anyway, I can't stay here for much longer, or I might get you into trouble. So, this is what I came here for. Happy Birthday!»

She took out the little package of the birthday present in a dramatic fashion and pushed it toward him from over the table.

Kouichi finally raised his head and stared curiously at the little box.

«...I thought you forgot. What with all the stuff that happened...»

«As you can see, I'm not that forgetful» she said proudly, but his sceptical face was enough to make her fall back on the ground. «...Okay, I confess: I completely forgot. It was Ruka who reminded me. Anyway, I'm here now so it doesn't matter, right?»

He shrugged.

«It's not like a care. Even if you forgot, I wouldn't mind.»

_''You jerk'' _she thought, glaring at him. She knew he didn't mean to offend her, but that wasn't exactly what she wanted to hear after running around like a fool to get him something that looked like a present! At least a ''thank you'' would have been in order!

«If you don't need it, I can take it back» she threatened, trying to take back the present.

Before Misaki could reach it, though, Kouichi snatched it away.

«I haven't said I didn't want it. ...Thank you.»

That was better! Misaki smiled, while he tore the paper open to see what was inside. When he saw the little, plastic motorbike, he frowned, making her heart sink. He didn't like it, after all. So she was right when she thought it was a childish present! Ah, if only she bought a sweater, or something like that! Maybe it wouldn't have been a creative present, but at least...

«...Not bad» he stated after a while. «It's exactly like mine, only smaller. Even the colour is the same.»

Misaki, who was right about to apologize, stared at him in confusion.

«Wait! You just said you like it?»

«Yeah. Why, you thought I wouldn't?»

Misaki's smile grew from ear to ear, her eyes sparkling like stardust.

«Yes, yes, YES! I knew it! I'm a genius! I knew from the very beginning that you would! It's not like I thought you wouldn't, you know?» she exclaimed. She was so happy that she could jump on the table and start dancing on it.

Kouichi stared at her in confusion for a while, then smiled.

«...You really are weird.»

When she noticed his smile, Misaki smirked like she just got exactly what she wanted.

«See? You're not scary at all, when you smile! You even look kind of charming!»

But, as soon as she said that, Kouichi seemed to come back to reality and instantly erased the smile from his face, frowning even more then usually.

«I wasn't smiling, you idiot!»

Misaki looked up and sighed. There they were again! Kouichi was so busy sabotaging himself that he didn't realize how much cuter he would be if he just relaxed a little. That guy just couldn't understand the charm of a smile.

Oh, well! It was still okay, as far as she was concerned: he didn't knew that, but that aDORKable side of him made him look cute all the same.

_**To be continued...**_


End file.
